Tomorrow Never Knows
by gingerbread11
Summary: Torchwood AU: Toshiko introduces her stoic roommate Librarian Ianto to her flamboyant and outrageous friend model turned photographer Jack at a fancy dress party and Ianto begins to question just how 'straight' he really is...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **_Good evening folks! I'm sorry to disappoint those of you who are viewing this in hope of a new story… but this is in fact the first chapter (Old Enough) of the 'Jack the model and Ianto the librarian' AU that I have been using in 'Girl Put Your Records On'. A couple of people have been getting confused by how GPYRO works (and that is understandable) so I have decided to scrap it and re-upload these AU chapters as a story in its own rights and either scrap the others or upload them as one shots. Sorry if I have caused any confusion, but this is this AUs new and permanent home from now on. Oh and for those of you lovely people who are completely new readers welcome! This is a Janto fic set in against a completely AU background without Torchwood or aliens etc. in which Ianto is a librarian and Jack a retired (or is he?) model who meet through their mutual friend Tosh. Hope you like it! Hannah xxx_

_PS: Because I'm really cheeky... if you fancy repeating your reviews from my old story... then feel free ;)_

__NB: I am only going to say this once (it's too much effort to keep writing it!) as predicted I own nothing sadly, all characters etc are properties of the BBC and Russell and the gang_!_

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><p>Ianto Jones flinched angrily as he heard the harsh sound of curtains being stripped open in his bedroom, and felt the burn of sunlight pouring in to every corner of the room, slipping beneath his eyelids and invading tired eyes. He cursed internally, not daring to speak out loud just yet, or even to move another muscle just on the off chance that his waker hadn't noticed his reaction yet and still thought him to be sound asleep.<p>

"Ianto I know you're awake, you're not fooling anyone." Toshiko said with a motherly, condescending tone.

Ianto prised his eyes open, regretting it immediately as he greeted the harsh light, and so screwed them back up again and began rubbing at them manically with his palms, blinking rapidly, trying to clear his vision. Unwillingly he pushed his pillows up behind him and sat up straight, giving the best attempt at a death stare to Tosh that he could manage this soon after being woken up.

"What time is it?" He asked, groggy and irritated.

"11.30" She replied.

"Uuurgh" Ianto groaned and sunk back underneath the duvet cover, pulling pillows down over his head, trying to block out the world once more. He'd hoped that if Tosh had considered it late enough to come in here and wake him up so violently then it had to be at least in the early hours of the afternoon.

The young Welshman was not one for lazy mornings or lie-ins, he usually woke up at the crack of dawn to greet the sun. But not today, he wanted today to be as short as possible, there for it was his plan to sleep in late and go to bed early, pretending almost as if today had been non-existent. Because it was one year to the day that Lisa, his beloved best friend and childhood sweetheart, had rejected his proposal of marriage. And, funnily enough, he didn't really feel like making much of a go of 'today'. Clearly Tosh, his University room-mate who he had now once again found himself living with this past year, had other ideas.

Toshiko ripped back the covers that her friend was clinging tightly to, and despite her small size, had the strength to prise them from him, leaving Ianto sprawled out on the bed in underwear and a Beatles t-shirt, eyes determinately shut.

"Fine, fine" She said. "If you won't wake up for me… perhaps you'll wake up for Myfanwy" She finished shrugging, and lifting the fluffy black cat from her bed and placing her on Ianto's face.

"Wha-oh-go-urr Tosh!" Ianto spluttered, lifting a rather agitated Myfanwy off his face and onto his chest instead.

"I'm sorry Ianto, but there's no use in wasting the day in bed."

He rolled his eyes and went to speak, but Toshiko interrupted.

"I know that today's going to be difficult for you –"

It was his turn to cut her off as he sighed "Tosh I know you're only trying to help but, can we not?" He asked, absent mindedly stroking Myfanwy.

"Look, Ianto, you need to know that nothing will be helped by failing to face up to what's happened and moved on. You've been doing so well these past 8 months or so, even had a few dates with a couple of nice pretty girls, you wouldn't want a stupid date on a calendar to ruin any of that would you? I mean. I know it was a shock, we were all shocked, you two had been together since before I even met you and I genuinely though you were perfect for each other. But, these things happen. You are a wonderful, intelligent funny, gorgeous man and there are plenty of people out there looking for exactly that; all of the a hell of a lot nicer than that bitch"

Ianto's throat caught at that word, it wasn't often that Tosh swore, but in a strange sort of way he appreciated the use of it then.

"Thanks" He replied softly "May be wasting the day away isn't the best thing to do, and you're right I need to put it behind me for good." He managed a small smile.

Toshiko sighed inwardly, she'd been hoping to be able to get the young man to open up to her a little more and for him to talk about everything, how he was feeling. But that was typical Ianto, never giving too much away, always a little distant even from his closest friends, it was just his way. He kept himself to himself, never over displayed his emotions, held a perfect and unbreakable stoic mask in place all day every day, and no one knew who he truly was; and that was exactly the way he liked it.

Toshiko pushed the thought back and smiled instead, at least content that he wasn't suicidal or revenge ridden on this particular anniversary. "Good, now can I get you a cup of coffee?" She asked kindly.

The Welshman sat up now moving the fairly irritated Myfanwy, she'd become rather cosy curled up on his chest, but she settled down as soon as she realised that the stroking would continue.

"What do you want" He asked once he was settled, one eyebrow raised and the suggestion of a smirk puckering at the corners of his mouth.

"I don't know what you mean" She said, a little flustered and flushing a little pink.

"Oh come on Tosh, you never offer to make coffee unless you want something" He said jovially.

"Well…"

"Ah" Ianto said, letting out a small sigh of contentment that he was correct.

"You see there's this party that my friend Jack is having this evening… and I was just going to go alone, I mean I would have asked you earlier of course but I though you wouldn't be up to it because of what today is… and well I'm only asking now because well…." She trailed off.

"Tosh, you're rambling. There's a party this evening and you'd like me to go with you?" He suggested.

She nodded. "Yes, yes. But honestly only if you feel like you can handle it, as I say I wasn't planning to ask you, if you'd rather just sit at home and watch bad movies and eat pizza and ice cream then I could just stay at home…"

"Don't be silly" He said smiling. "It might do me good to get out of the house, keep my mind off things you know." Ianto wasn't so sure it would be possible to keep his mind of things but he was never going to express how he felt and he supposed that pretending like he was keeping his mind off things in the company of a group of strangers was better than wallowing in self-hatred and pity with a cat. "Why exactly are you so averse to the idea of attending this party unaccompanied?" Raising one eyebrow again.

"Well it's just; oh gosh it's just me being sill really…"

"Is Owen going?" He guessed.

"Maybe…" She answered, cheeks growing a little flushed for the second time this morning.

"Tosh, not being funny or anything but if you're trying to make Owen jealous or something then maybe I'm the wrong person to take…" He winked.

"Silly boy!" She lunged forward to playfully whack his forearm "I've already complimented you enough this morning, but I think you'd do the trick nicely if that's what I was intending on doing…"

"Which of course it isn't…"

"Well, I just thought, maybe if he sees me with another man then he might… Oh I don't know, I guess I thought he might notice me more or something…"

"I just think he's crazy for not noticing you in the first place, but if you think it will help then I will gladly assist" He replied, putting on his most convincing smile.

"Thank you!" She half squealed, giving him a rather Myfanwy-crushing hug as she exited his room.

"Oh and that would be a no by the way." He called out.

"Huh?"

"A no. For the coffee, you might be a genius Miss Sato but you make a terrible brew!"

Five hours later and Ianto Jones was stood back in his room now, clad only in his underwear, running his hands through his hair with desperation, wardrobe door flung wide open and almost the entire contents spilling out onto the floor. Toshiko Sato, what am I going to do with you… he thought to himself. She had neglected to tell him until just a few minutes ago that this party tonight was a costume party, and now he only had a few hours left to pool together an acceptable outfit from his supply of clothing as there was no way that he'd be able to hire anything this last minute. He'd tried on checked shirts and denim jackets for a cowboy outfit, but was missing a hat. He'd sneakily borrowed some of Tosh's eye liner and put on an old leather jacket, but he knew that with his dimples he would never make a very convincing drummer. He'd even considered going dressed in a pair of footie pyjamas which Tosh had bought for him as a bit of a joke last year… but he wasn't that desperate he decided.

He heard a knock at the door.

"Come in" He said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"How are you – " She stopped, shocked a little by his lack of clothing, and averted her eyes. "Oh sorry…"

"Don't be silly, we've been to the beach together before, just get in here and help me chose something please!" He said desperately – why do I care so much… he mused, I don't even really want to go, I'm only going for Tosh's sake…

"Alright" She said, sounding a little uncertain. "I am sorry; I didn't not tell you on purpose I just genuinely had forgotten that it was fancy dress until Gwen dropped round the costume I'm borrowing from her after lunch."

"That's alright" Ianto sighed, looking with dismay once again at the innards of his wardrobe, and wondering if maybe he couldn't just somehow get out of it all, and stay at home wallowing in his memories of Lisa. Tosh had kept him busy and occupied all day and so he hadn't had the opportunity to think much about any of it, or to curl up and cry out all of the pent up angst that he was feeling, for fear of his mask from dropping. Besides, he knew deep down that Tosh was right about moving on, once today was over, he was determined to not think of Lisa ever again. After what he hoped was not too long a pause to arouse concern or suspicion in Toshiko, the young man continued "I just haven't the faintest clue what to wear..."

"You could always wear those" Tosh pointed to him, gesturing at his white boxer shorts.

Ianto answered her with a sarcastic eye roll.

"I'm being serious! Well, sort of, I mean if we found you a pair of glasses then we could easily make a Brad Majors out of you" She grinned.

"Oh haha, very funny. I don't suppose the host, this Jack of yours, would appreciate that very much, and besides I don't have a Janet Weiss to accompany me so I might look a little odd." He said in his infamous ironic tone.

"Oh I don't know about that" Tosh replied ominously.

"What you'd do it? But… I thought you were going as Catwoman? Even if I did have a Janet, I still wouldn't want to be walking around in my underwear all evening!"

"No, I meant that I wasn't so sure that Jack _wouldn't_ appreciate you wandering around clad only in boxers!" She replied giggling.

Ianto's eyebrows raised in shock then dropped almost immediately afterwards, he coughed his way back to composure. "Excuse me?" He asked, cheeks turning pink just a little.

"Yeah… I should probably warn you about him… He's a bit… well flirtatious doesn't even begin to cover it… But don't worry he's like it with everyone, and you kind of get used to it" She laughed again.

"Riiiight" He said dragging out the reply. And then he noticed the black dinner suit and bow tie as some of the remaining items left hanging up in the back of his wardrobe and simultaneously smiled and sighed inwardly with relief as he suddenly had a very good idea for a costume indeed and, more importantly, he would be clothed when he had to face this 'Jack Harkness'.

Later that day, Toshiko 'Catwoman' Sato stood chatting and laughing with the host of the party and her good friend Jack Harkness, glancing guiltily over to the out of place looking Ianto Jones who was currently playing the part of the wall flower, staring mysteriously out at no one in particular. He'd told her to go off and talk to people, that he's be fine, but she still felt bad leaving him alone.

"And yeah, so umm the other week after the annual office Christmas party that was a total dive, where my friend Alex was like the only drunk person there and made a complete ass of himself, anyway, Alex came up to me the next day and was like 'Jack what the hell did I get up to last night?' and so I gave him all the gory details, not sparing the part where he called our boss Yvonne a control freak bitch who'll shag anything" Jack paused to laugh. "And he was moaning and asking how she took it and I was all like 'you were totally fired man' then he said 'well fuck her' and then I replied, don't worry I did and you're back Monday!"

"No way! You're making this up right?" Tosh asked

"No way, all true! It's brilliant isn't it?" He grinned at Toshiko's bashful giggle.

"Jack, you are absolutely outrageous!"

"I know, but it's why you all love me" He winked.

The American looked over now to where Tosh's eyes had been darting back and forth to for the past few minutes or so now, towards the cryptic Ianto Jones who stood unspeaking, unmoving, unseeing (?) against the back wall of his apartment.

"So, who's your friend?" Jack asked, intrigued by the figure in front of him.

"That's Ianto" She replied, smiling lightly as she said his name.

"How long have you been seeing him then? I thought you liked Owen? I mean it's why I invited him here tonight… but I must admit this Ianto certainly seems… nicer" He said, wiggling his eyebrows towards the end.

"Oh no" Tosh said flustered, "We're just good friends, it's nothing like that"

"I see" Jack said, taking in the young man who stood a good few feet away from him. The dark neatly kept hair, the clear bluer than blue eyes, the perfect porcelain face which beheld an impossible to read expression. He was wearing a perfectly tailored dinner suit, clutching an old fashioned and just casually keeping a distance between himself and the rest of the world. He was the definition of enigmatic. And for some reason Jack found him ridiculously attractive.

"Oh no Jack, just leave him be please."

"What?" He asked, feigning innocence.

"I know that look! And trust me, Ianto's not interested."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked, playfully but with a hint of genuine hope.

"Well, I presume not… I mean I don't know… no one really knows much about Ianto" She sighed. "But in all the time I have known him he's only ever dated women. Besides, I don't think today would be the best for anyone to try anything, male or female…"

"And what do you mean by that…?" He asked, intrigued.

"Oh gosh, I probably shouldn't say anything" Tosh mumbled.

"He so young, yet he looks as though he's got the weight of the world rested upon those shoulders, and half a life time of pent up emotion behind that mask of his" Jack mused.

"You could say that" Tosh sighed once more, turning to face Jack, only to see that he had gone wandering of to greet her friend. Oh god, she groaned inwardly.

"Jack Harkness" the man said as he extended a hand to Ianto, who for a second, was so swept up in his own thoughts, had forgotten that he was at a party at all. He recovered in an instant and shook the American's hand. "But you Bond, James Bond, can call me Captain" The man winked. Upon noticing this surprise gesture, Ianto took a moment to take in the man stood before him that he could quite safely assume to be Tosh's Jack. The bold American was charismatic, with an all American look to match his voice, he was a fair bit older than Ianto himself, perhaps in his late mid to late thirties, but he was still incredibly good looking… especially in that WWII air force Captain's uniform… Ianto surprised himself with that particular thought, but settled himself in just enough time to introduce himself.

"Jones, Ianto Jones" He replied with a smile. Oh god, am I flirting with him? He thought.

The other man seemed to find it amusing "Well Jones, Ianto Jones, can I get you another" He said, gesturing towards his empty glass.

'_You'll be fine; just don't let him get you drunk…'_ He remembered Tosh saying earlier during her 'survival guide' briefing for one of Jack's illustrious parties.

"Yes, thank you" He replied, what am I doing? The young man shook himself internally, he was supposed to be wallowing in his sad memories of Lisa and the love he'd lost and probably wouldn't find again, not flirting with a man of all things! But he is rather handsome… his subconscious mused idly. The thought was snapped away as soon as Jack returned drinks in hands.

"Here you go" He said, handing the glass over to Ianto, fingers brushing past each other just lightly, sending a surprising spark of electricity down Ianto's arm. "So what do you do for a living? Film star… model… 'Hot guy' at a clothing shop…? He grinned.

Ianto blushed slightly, but smiled back despite himself. "No, no nothing that _demanding_, I'm a librarian for Cardiff Central Library. And how about you, Captain?" He asked back, why was he going along with this? Ianto didn't flirt, he never had, not even with Lisa, he just never felt… confident… enough to pull it off, what on earth was he doing now?

The American's eyebrow rose, indicating both his surprise and delight at Ianto's question, "I'm a photographer now, but I used to model" He grinned, striking a pose.

I bet you did… Ianto mused. "So how do you know Tosh" Ianto asked swiftly, trying a safer topic, one that Jack surely couldn't flirt his way through.

"Well, it's a funny story really… but basically it involves a stolen sword, a bottle of tequila and me running naked through the streets of Splott" He grinned, did that man ever stop grinning Ianto wondered.

"I believe estate agents pronounce it Sploe you know" He said, trying to make the older man laugh.

It worked, he choked a little on his drink in response, "Oh really?"

"Indeed" Ianto replied, in an ominous tone. Jack noted how he was growing particularly fond of that accent… those Welsh vowels.

"Do I want to ask for the exact details of that story?" Ianto asked, despite knowing that he probably would regret it.

"Hmm I wouldn't want you to find out all about my terrible reputation when we've only just met… besides, we haven't had nearly enough to drink yet for me to be prepared to tell that story." He winked again. "And on that matter, another refill?" He asked a surprised Ianto, who was confused at exactly how his glass had emptied so quickly again. _Just don't let him get you drunk _Tosh's words echoed again. But it's fine he told himself, I'm not drunk…. yet.

"Why do you do it?" Jack asked, handing Ianto his fourth (?) drink, fingers lingering together again, with that same spark of electricity between them.

"Do what?" He asked, a little confused.

"Hide yourself away from the rest of the world, keep your emotions hidden, never let anyone know who you truly are?"

Ianto was a little taken aback by this question, stunned by how much the other man seemed to have picked up about him, that he seemed to have looked right into him in a way that he tried so desperately to prevent people from doing usually. "What do you, I mean how…?"

"I may have been speaking with Tosh" Jack admitted with a wry smile, "But I could have noticed it for myself if I had wanted to" He finished in a matter of fact manner, beaming away.

"Oh really?" Ianto replied somewhat seductively, even if he didn't mean it that way, with one eye brow irked upwards.

Jack paused for a minute or more, thinking intently before all of a sudden his eyes took on a wicked gleam before asking: "Have you ever kissed a man, Jones Ianto Jones?"

Ianto spluttered and turned really rather pink just then, "Uh- umm – uh no".

Jack's expression took on an even more devilish quality, and Ianto suddenly noticed that they were moving very close together now. "Do you want to?" Jack asked, his voice filled with hope and lust and excitement.

"That would depend on the man" Ianto replied, almost breathless, knowing that he should have just said no, that he _meant _no.

Before he had another second to reconsider exactly what that statement had meant, Ianto found his lips gently crushed by those of the man stood before him, and he was kissing them back. He'd reacted almost instantly, instinctively one could say, allowing the other man's wandering tongue access to his curious mouth. They both lost themselves in that moment, losing track of time, of their surroundings, of themselves… until Ianto suddenly remembered that they were in a very public place. He pulled away, and was surprised to find that no one was even looking at them, caring about what had just gone on, it must just be a regular occurrence at Jack's parties he assumed.

Jack pulled back a little further and began chuckling slightly. "Did I tell you that you look hot in that suit" He said, stroking the front part of his jacket, Ianto found himself wondering just exactly where the hands would stop and surprised himself by being disappointed when they ended just above his belly button.

"You didn't" He smiled "Did I tell you that I love that coat?"

"You didn't, but I'm glad you do, I wear it almost every day"

"But I thought this was your costume?" Ianto frowned a little with confusion.

"It is, but it's also a regular in my wardrobe, which means I get to be Captain Jack 24/7" He winked and Ianto rolled his eyes. But found that he was really rather keen on the idea of a 24/7 Captain Harkness… if he was always like this… and such a good kisser…

Oh god! He thought. What had he just gotten himself into?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **_Hello! This was originally in my story 'Girl Put Your Records On' under the title 'I kissed a Girl'. Hannah xxx_

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><p>It was Sunday morning, the day after Jack's party, and it was early, barely just six o'clock, darkness still blanketing the outside winter scene, but Ianto Jones was awake. Despite the volume of alcohol he had consumed the evening before, the young man felt alive and refreshed without the faintest hint of a hangover, and was already partaking in his Sunday rituals. Whilst most of the nation was still sound asleep, he'd already eaten breakfast, showered, shaved, dressed and was now sat down in the sitting room attempting to complete a crossword puzzle from the Saturday paper but his mind wasn't entirely focused on it.<p>

It had been fairly easy for his natural alarm clock to settle back into its old routine after his lapse the day before, partially because of the young Welshman's eagerness to be alert and ready and prepared for the day ahead, but mostly on this particular occasion because he had something troubling him from the evenings events, something that had prevented him from a full night's rest… well it was either that or the alcohol he mused.

But of course the predicament was that, due to said consumption of endless cocktails and eventually shots… and goodness knows what had been in that last mixture… his memories of the night before weren't exactly the best. It was most unlike Ianto to get into a situation such as last night, after which all traces of your evening were gone, but with it being a year on from Lisa's rejection of his proposal he had needed this sense of escapism. There were no actual events from the party that he could pin point, other than his arrival (in which he had been in a sober state) and the point at which Owen had accidentally spilt beer on him (which was mostly prompted by the slightly stale smell of Brains on his jacket). He remembered enjoying himself rather a lot more than he was expecting to, but he also remembered feeling highly out of his comfort zone, he remembered talking with Tosh's friend Jack…but he could barely remember seeing Tosh at all.

He sighed slightly to himself, and resolved to wait until Toshiko was awake and quiz her then about what exactly had gone on at this part, until then he decided to simply try and finish this puzzle and perhaps read a few chapters of 'The God of Small Things'. Quarter to seven, the face on his watch read. He sighed once more; it was going to be a good few hours until Miss Sato was awake.

It was mid-morning now, well almost the afternoon really, it was getting on for twelve o'clock. The sun that had been trying for the last few hours to break through the thick layer of dull clouds had now succeeded, casting a bright, deceptively warm glow across the winter sky. Beams of light burst through the blinds in her bedroom, and it was this that finally aroused Toshiko from her deep slumber. She sat up quickly, stretching as she went and rapidly regretted the movement; unlike her roommate Toshiko was most certainly paying the price for having an enjoyable evening the night before. With an almighty groan out loud, she slumped back down into the mattress, cuddling the duvet to her stomach to fight away the nausea and drawing her pillow up over her head to block out the ringing in her ears. Today was not going to be fun.

Ianto put down the book that he had become absorbed in on the coffee table as he heard what sounded like a faint groan echoing from the direction of Tosh's room. I guess she's up then, he chuckled to himself and got up to get her a glass of water, two ibuprofen tablets and a cup of his specialty blend coffee – the ultimate hang-over cure.

Ten minutes later, Toshiko heard a knocking at her door.

"Go away… I'm asleep".

He chuckled to himself from the outside of the door, and decided to head on in anyway.

"Ianto Jones, I told you I'm sleeping!" He heard her voice mumble from under the depths of her duvet.

"Oh really" He said, setting the tray bearing her anti-hangover kit to one side and tickling the dainty pair of feet exposed at the end of the bed; Toshiko squirmed in response.

"Fine, fine; I'm awake, you can stop that now!" She grumbled.

"Well, now that you're 'awake' perhaps you could remove the pillow from your head so I can talk to you properly?" Toshiko replied something inaudible from under her covers. "I come bearing gifts…" Ianto persuaded.

Rather hesitantly, Tosh removed the pillow from her head placing it behind her, and slowly sat up, clutching her head as she did so. She gladly accepted the tray of goodness which Ianto was now passing towards her, and quickly took the two painkillers with the cool and refreshing water, after which she gulped down an eager mouthful of Ianto's special blend coffee.

"Oh you absolute angel!" She exclaimed with a happy sigh as the hot liquid ran down her throat. "You have no idea how much I needed this, thank you!"

"You're welcome" Ianto smiled. "I take it that someone isn't feeling too dapper after last night's events…?"

Tosh rolled her eyes in response, "Oh that is the understatement of the Century. My head feels like it's filled with cotton wool, I can't shake the ringing from my ears and my stomach has never felt quite this unsettled in my whole life. It's worth it though."

"Ah you had a good time then?" Ianto asked, hoping that he would shortly be able to subtly bring up exactly what might have happened at the party.

"Yeah I had a great night! Jack's parties are always hilarious and completely outrageous fun, but this one was especially brilliant because…" She trailed off, flushing a little.

"Because?" The Welshman asked, raising an eyebrow to urge her to continue.

"Well… Owen and I sort of, well umm yeah" She stumbled through, with the largest grin on her face that she had worn in a long while.

"About bloody time!" Ianto replied with an expert eye roll and laugh.

"Oh be quiet" She replied, the smile yet to fade, lurching her arm out to mock slap her sarcastic friend. "Oh ah… movement, not good" She finished, clutching her stomach and slowly settling back against the headboard.

"And that's why you shouldn't hit people…" Ianto grinned.

"Don't make me do it again!"

"Now, come on I know that's not much of a threat as you'll only come off worst from it anyway."

"I hate it that you're always right" She fought back a grin. "Are you honestly not feeling anything after last night, you'd had an awful lot!"

Ianto shrugged, "No, I'm absolutely fine… physically. Slight problem though, I can't really remember anything" He admitted.

The young woman started laughing in response, "Oh you really were quite the hilarious drunk, kept doing impressions of Rob Brydon and trying to get everyone to play twister and then… but you really don't remember anything, I mean, nothing at all?" She asked.

"Oh gosh, twister? I barely even remember seeing you there Tosh, let alone anything that happened, why did I do anything embarrassing? Even more embarrassing than twister?"

Toshiko giggled, "well that depends…"

"Depends? Depends on what?"

"Well, whether you think it's embarrassing or not… whether you think it's weird"

"Oh lord, what, just tell me, what did I do?"

Ianto, who was so used to being the composed one, the one with the upper hand, the one with greater integrity in situations such as these was beginning to grow just a little uncomfortable, and just a little impatient. He didn't make a habit of getting drunk a) because he felt it wasn't necessary to have an enjoyable time, and b) because alcohol always leads to trouble or embarrassment, and he was starting to think that this predicament was providing a firm set of evidence as to why he should always uphold these rules.

"Well, I mean, just so you know I don't think it's weird, as long as you're fine with it I really couldn't care less, I mean to be honest you go to one of Jack's parties expecting this sort of thing… I just didn't expect it to be you to… but anyway it really isn't a big deal…"

"Would you just tell me already, please!" The young Welshman cut her off, pleading.

"Ok, well… you kissed Jack." She said, quite bluntly and straight to the point.

"I what?"

"You kissed Jack, you made out, tongue wrestled, you snogged! Well, I suppose technically it was Jack that kissed you…"

"Hang on a second, you're telling me that Jack – and I'm assuming you mean your Jack, though I'd love for you to tell me that it was another Jack, short for Jacqueline maybe – kissed at the party?"

"Yes, and no, not Jacqueline. Jack, American Jack, Captain Jack."

"Really?"

"Yes, and you seemed to be rather enjoying yourself…"

"Hang on, you're telling me I kissed another guy, and I liked it?" He questioned with disbelief.

And then it hit him, memories started flashing back, fragments of last night pouting back into his conscious mind. An introduction, him flirting with this other man (Ianto added this as another reason not to over consume alcohol again; he didn't do flirting), being poured endless and endless drinks, being asked that fatal question… _'have you ever kissed a man Jones, Ianto Jones?... do you want to?' _he heard himself reply… _'No… That would depend on the man…'._ He remembered wanting Jack to kiss him then, remembered the older man's charm having won him over in an instant, that glorious coat, the strangely enticing aroma surrounding him… that gorgeous face. He wanted it. And then it happened, and he really had enjoyed it, most unexpectedly and most uncharacteristically he had enjoyed that spontaneous kiss with a member of the same sex, and he had no idea whatsoever to make of it all.

He gasped a little and pulled his hand up to his mouth, "Oh god I remember, he was… we were… and it was… oh dear I…" He mumbled, flushing out of both embarrassment and uncertainty.

"Hey, you know its ok, like I said it only matters if you want it to matter. If you don't think it's weird, then it's fine."

"But I do think it's weird! It does bother me!" He protested, brow knitting together into a frown.

"Oh, well I mean, really Ianto it's no big deal, it was just a kiss, I mean no one else there even batted an eye lid…" Tosh said, trying to be reassuring, but was ultimately a little surprised at his reaction. She was the first to admit that Ianto Jones was a very private man, even those closest to him never could quite tell what he was thinking or how he was feeling, but she had always assumed that he was a little more comfortable with himself than to let something like this bother him.

"No no, it's not the fact that I kissed a man at a party that's weird… I mean yes, it's a little surprising to say the least and quite possibly the last thing I expected you to tell me I'd done, but it would have been fine if I could say that that's all it was, just a drunken kiss… that it meant nothing and could be easily swept under the carpet, but the truth is…"

"The truth is?"

"The truth is… I liked it" He whispered. "I liked Jack, I'm not even sure I can blame that on the alcohol, and though everything is still a bit hazy I can definitely remember feeling… oh what on earth does that mean then!" He sighed, flushing a little again.

"Well, it doesn't have to mean anything you don't want it to mean. Just because you think you might have like one man doesn't necessarily make you gay, you don't have to define it as anything. You don't have to label your feelings; just speaking from Jack's point of view for a minute, I know that he hates labels and categories. He sort of doesn't see gender, just people and to be honest so many people could live much happier lives if they followed his example. There's no need to worry about what happened, just accept that you had a great evening with someone you liked, and if that's where this ends then just cherish the somewhat fuzzy memory, but if…"

"But if?"

"But if you like, I could always give you his phone number" She said wiggling her sleepy eyebrows at a Ianto level of perfection.

The young Welshman simply rolled his eyes in response.

Three or so hours later and Tosh was feeling a lot better, in fact she was out of her bedroom and now sat in the sitting room finishing of her late lunch and catching up on the IT Crowd, whilst Ianto was now taking his own turn at camping out in the bedroom. For the last twenty minutes or so, he had been sat on the corner of his bed, rolling his mobile around in his hand, crumpling and uncrumpling the sheet of paper with Tosh's neat lettering containing the vital data required for the text that Ianto was taking so long to deliberate sending. He looked down to his mobile and opened up a new text message only to close the window again with a sigh.

He had absolutely no idea what he was doing, the young man was entirely out of his depths and that scared the living day lights out of him. He hardly knew this Jack, and what he did know of him was learnt in a somewhat drunken state, the only things he really knew for certain about him was his job, the fact that he was friends with Tosh and the fact that he was bloody beautiful. No matter what Tosh said to him, whilst it had been a nice ideal, putting it into practice was going to be very tricky indeed. Especially considering that he had no idea what he was hoping to gain from sending this text, or if he wanted to gain anything at all, or what he would do once he had gained it… or of course how the recipient reacted, after all Tosh had said that this was a semi-regular occurrence, maybe he had already been forgotten the Welshman mused.

Oh for goodness sake! He shook himself internally. I am not a 13 year old school girl, I can handle this, after all it's only polite to follow up from something like this even if nothing else should happen, isn't it? He thought.

_Hey Jack, it's Ianto. _He typed and sent. A kiss was deleted and re-added to the end of the text about 12 times before he finally decided on the 'less' (or in this case nothing) approach.

_Ianto who? x _He received back, simultaneously disconcerted by the lack of recognition and secretly pleased by the kiss.

_How many Ianto's do you know? x _He texted back, hoping that Jack was just fooling around.

_Just one, but that one hasn't got my number… though I wish he did…. x_

_Tosh gave it to me, hope that's ok? x_

_Of course it's ok, did you not read the last text Jones, Ianto Jones? x_

Ianto smiled, finally reassured that Jack both knew who he was talking to and was pleased to be doing so.

_I did, but it never hurts to check Captain x _

_Indeed it does not, so what can I do for you? ;) x_

_Just to… say hello x_

_Hello? x_

_Yes, so ummm…. x_

_So? x_

_Right… well… how are you? x_

_Great, you? x_

_Yeah, ok. So…x_

_So? :L x _Clearly subtlety was getting him nowhere, either that or Jack was deliberately playing games with him and Ianto decided that even based upon the little he knew of that man that it was most likely the latter.

_You aren't going to make this any easier for me, are you? x_

_No! x_

_I enjoyed you're party last night x _Ianto deliberated in sending this reply for about ten minutes, still highly uncertain as to what he hoped to gain by the end of this conversation and uncertain as to how he felt about pretty much anything right now. He hoped Jack would understand that by party he meant… well, he was sure he'd understand.

_I enjoyed it too x_

_I'd never done it before x_

_*Been to a costume party I mean… x _He quickly added on to the end.

_I know, you told me. I'm glad that mine was your first x_

Me too… Ianto mused, and quickly snapped himself out of it – were they talking about the costume party or about the kiss? He barely even knew this man and yet he felt as if he had known him as long as Toshiko, yes he was attractive and charming and knew how to work his way under your skin, but Ianto really didn't know anything about him which was a fact he was starting to think he'd like to change even if it ended up being on just a friendship level.

_You doing much this afternoon? x_

_Nah not really, fancy a coffee in town, about four? x_

_Yeah why not, providing I get to pick the café, I'm very particular about my coffee…. x _

_I bet you are! Ok just tell me where and I'll meet you x_

Ianto read that last text and found his mouth to be curling up at the corners, smiling to himself in his bedroom. There was no denying the fact that he was yet to get over the whole unusualness and newness of this situation, or that he had no idea what this meeting (date?) would entail or what he wanted from it; but it would be an outright lie to say that he wasn't really rather excited.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_Howdy! This was originally under the title 'Electric Feel' in GPYRO – so sorry if this is getting confusing! Hannah xxx_

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><p>Ianto Jones glanced at his wristwatch again, for perhaps the eight time in the last minute or so, and sighed to himself: 4.21 pm the clock face read, Jack was supposed to have been meeting him on the hour. He really is late Ianto mused, unless… unless he's not coming… he muttered to himself under his breath. Tosh had previously warned him of the man's tendency to arrive more than fashionably late, but still the younger man was worried by the fact he had failed to show as yet; he'd been nervous enough agreeing to this meeting (it wasn't a date surely…) in the first place and now he was becoming increasingly anxious that the American had changed his mind. After all, this man was attractive and charismatic and completely exuded confidence from every angle, he was the kind of man who could have anyone, of any gender, that he chose. There's no doubt that his past list of relationships, lovers and conquests, and friends even, must be mightily extensive; he was an ex-model, he was charming, and the Welshman had learned from his best friend that he was no stranger to the art of flirtation. Therefore, why on Earth would he want to meet up with me: a fairly ordinary, quiet, average looking Welshman who may or may not be… interested. Ianto looked at his watch again, 4.23 pm, why am I still here? He mused as he drained the dregs of an Americano he had purchased during his wait.<p>

Suddenly the young Welshman was beginning to feel a little foolish for getting putting in so much effort preparing for this outing. As soon as the time and whereabouts for their meeting had been set Ianto had run straight in to where Tosh was just about to start on the lunchtime dishes, desperate to quiz her on every little detail: what Jack was really like, what he should expect from this outing, the precise details (he knew the major one of course) about their interactions at the party… anything. For the most part Toshiko hadn't been brilliantly helpful, though that wasn't her fault. She had said that Jack was hard to read, you could never tell if he was flirting – or even when he was more than flirting – out of attraction or simply out of kindness. That he was probably exactly how he had deemed him from his first impression: larger than life and full of charm, and that she hadn't been close enough to hear the pair's conversation but that they seemed to have been enjoying each other's company.

Tosh's ambiguity had meant that Ianto Jones was, for once, feeling very much out of his depth – he was beyond nervous about precisely what he was getting into. His last half an hour had been spent matching various garments together to find the perfect out for their meeting (he'd settled on dark slim leg jeans, a fair isle jersey and his favourite caterpillar boots), shaving for the second time today and generally grooming his immaculate appearance obsessively; and he had no idea why.

Siting in the café now, going over this afternoon's events in his mind, he had even less of an idea why he had put so much effort in; the bloody man wasn't even going to turn up!

Ianto himself had arrived at five minutes to four, early as always despite Tosh's information, at the peculiar little café that also served as an antique books shop that he had selected for their afternoon coffee. It was a quaint, nameless and odd little place tucked away on the edge of the town centre that had been there for what seemed like forever. The business seemed to attract very little custom other than Ianto himself who frequently popped in for a coffee and a chat with the owners Bethan (Beth) and Steffan, or to browse through their varied collection of antiquities. He'd often wondered how many people ventured in to the curious establishment during the day, let alone up until the gone midnight closing time; but Beth and Steffan had never shown any signs of closure – not even during this time of recession. Ever since he had been a teenager in need of a place of refuge away from the noise of his busy household this is where he had head and it had remained very dear to his heart ever since. It was peaceful and unique and provided the second best (only to his own) coffee in Cardiff.

He'd been a little worried about the choice, but Jack had asked him to choose where ever he would like to go and this was the only place within at least a thirty mile radius that he would even think about purchasing a coffee from… but he supposed it did seem a bit of an odd choice for a meeting such as this. Not that Ianto had been on such a meeting before of course. He glanced at his watch again: 4.25 pm, well if he ever deigns to turn up then I can at least justify my choice once he sample's a cup of Steffan's coffee he mused, or by the fact that you get to choose your own coffee mug to drink from, he mused as he began fiddling with the red and white striped mug in front of him; his favourite.

Just as Ianto was contemplating how much longer he could justify sitting her before totally residing to the fact that he had been 'stood up' and settling for heading off home feeling sorry for himself, Jack Harkness entered the small café with an impressive flourish. His brunette hair was ruffled ever so slightly, breaking away from his usual, rigidly gelled style, there was a hint of sweat across his brow that appeared to glisten in the afternoon sun, he was breathing heavily through a wide beaming grin, and his cheeks were slightly red with the glow of exercise; he had been running.

"I know, I know, I'm late but I've got a really good excuse – you're gonna love it!" He said, slightly breathless, and if it was possible his grin grew even wider as he spoke.

"Hmm I bet you do" The Welshman replied, irking one eyebrow upwards and ushering with his hands for Jack to sit down opposite him.

Truth be told did have a good excuse, a very good excuse in fact, as to why he was late for their meeting; much better than his usual 'the girls at work just couldn't keep their hands off me!' or 'I had to go and catch an alien' or any number of fanciful excuses. He himself had been surprisingly nervous about meeting Ianto for a coffee, and a proper chat without the presence of alcohol, that afternoon and had set himself up to be bang on time if not a little early at the quirky little café come bookshop that Ianto had wanted to meet at. Jack didn't do nervous, not usually; but something about this young Welshman had got beneath his skin, he wanted to get to know more about the mysterious, attractive character that for all he knew was completely and utterly straight.

And so, he dressed himself in a favourite navy polo shirt, mid wash boot cut jeans and converse, then perfected his hair and brushed his teeth all in a hurry so as not to be late for their outing, only for his phone to ring as he was putting the keys into the door of his car. Groaning to himself he checked his watch quickly – 3.50, he had precisely two minutes to carry out this conversation before he needed to leave if he wanted to be on time – then reluctantly answered his phone. It was an old friend and colleague of his Alex Hopkins the manager of Spotlight; the modelling agency he had previously worked with and now did much of the photography for, wanting to talk to him about a job with Burberry. Jack's draw dropped open: Burberry. He had dreamed of working with Burberry for years, and though he'd always hoped an opportunity would have arisen when he was still working as a model, he was excited even by the prospect of photographing a shoot or and advert or whatever they wanted. In his sheer excitement half of Alex's words were missed, with him only tuning into the conversation again at

"…and they'd been looking over some of your previous work and decided that they just had to have you! So will you do it?"

"Of course! Of course I will! This is fantastic! What do they want me for? How much work is it exactly? Which models will I be photographing?" He said in a frantic rush of excitement.

"Which models? Jack, were you not listening? They want you!"

"What?"

Alex sighed down the phone, "They want you to be the new face of the brand –"

"So they want me to model, not to photograph?" Jack interrupted, slightly confused but pleased beyond belief.

"Precisely… so, will you do it?"

"Absolutely!" Jack grinned.

"Great! I'll give you Christopher's number so that you can find out a bit more about the job"

Jack took down the number, eagerly scribbling on his hand and preceded to call up Christopher Lowe, artistic director for the brand, directly after his conversation with Alex had finished and spent a good twenty minutes discussing the exact details of his new contract; they wanted him to be in every advertisement that they published for the new season and potentially for further seasons after this summer. The American kept glancing towards his wristwatch throughout the entire telephone call, knowing that he was making himself later and later for seeing Ianto, but not quite finding the strength to care as much as he should have done as he was so thrilled with this new opportunity; he would just have to hope that Ianto would see it as a valid excuse and forgive him twenty five minutes.

"…And so as soon as we ended the call I jumped straight in my car and drove here – but could I find a decent parking space nearby – no? So I ended up having to leave it parked on some random street about ten minutes away, which is why I ran over here in such a rush because I knew I was late already and…" He trailed off, catching his breath properly now, smiling away.

"Well that sure is one hell of an excuse" Ianto smiled, he couldn't help but do anything else in the presence of the man opposite him, so enthused and animated.

"So you aren't mad at me?" Jack wanted to clarify, smile fading for just a minute.

"Of course not! Tosh had warned me of your time keeping skills… But I must admit, I am pleasantly surprised that the multi-talented up and coming face of Burberry even decided to arrive at all, after all what would such a high flying individual want with a boring old librarian?" Ianto winked.

"Well from where I'm sat, the librarian isn't so boring… and he really doesn't want to know the things that I want from him" Jack winked back sending a wave of heat across Ianto's cheeks.

He coughed a little, "so, has your apartment recovered from the party?" Ianto asked.

"Just about, though I keep finding bananas in strange places… like in one of my shoes, in the microwave, behind the sofa…" He grinned. "I reckon Owen went on a mad drunken banana spree, trying to wind me up probably, but not understanding that I'm actually finding it quite amusing" The American broke out into a laugh.

Ianto found himself laughing too, for some reason he just couldn't help but reciprocate the gesture of the handsome man before him. Handsome? Ianto questioned himself silently, did I really just think handsome? He shook the thought away to reply:

"Well from what Tosh had told me, that definitely sounds like Owen"

"Ah yes of course, those two are pretty cosy aren't they?" He smiled and Ianto smiled back "And how is the lovely Toshiko of course? Bearing up ok? I know she usually takes the morning after pretty hard…"

"She's been better" The Welshman laughed "Headache and nausea as usual, but she perked up a bit after a coffee" He finished and by coincidence Beth had brought the two men's coffees over to their table at that precise moment, Ianto's in his red striped favourite, and Jack in a blue version. Both men nodded appreciatively and thanked the sweet woman.

"Bless her; she's always been like that hasn't she?"

"Indeed… so I was wondering, how exactly did you meet Tosh again? My memory from last night and all I can remember is you saying something about a stolen sword, a bottle of tequila and you running naked through the streets of Splott!"

"Ah, well that's all I did tell you… and that's all you're getting for now, at least until we know each other a bit better and you have already formed your own terrible opinion of me as people always do" He grinned.

"I think it would be quite hard to form a bad opinion of you" Ianto mused.

The man opposite irked an eyebrow up inquisitively.

"Did I say that out loud?" The Welshman asked his face well and truly flooded with embarrassment.

"Yup" He grinned. "And believe me, it is very easy to quickly gain a bad opinion of me, I have a very extensive reputation I'll have you know"

"I'm sure you do!"

The pair smiled at each other briefly before each taking generous mouthfuls of their coffees, and continuing to talk for the next half an hour or so about whatever random topics popped up into conversation, neither of them quite sure where to progress with anything beyond light hearted, trivial chit chat.

"So…" Jack began a good while later.

"So?" Ianto questioned, not wanting to make the first move.

"Why are we here today the Jones, Ianto Jones?"

Ianto fiddled nervously with the handle on his mug, completely unsure of what to say in response because in truth he had absolutely no idea why he was there. As far as he had been concerned he was a straight man, always had been always would be, but now there was Jack and… no he surely wasn't attracted to him, was he? I mean, yes he was good looking…very good looking… and funny and charming… but you were allowed to notice things like that without it meaning anything right? Just because he had noticed this, just because talking with Jack filled his stomach with a thousand gently fluttering butterflies and just because he had even let this man kiss him… didn't mean a thing, did it?

Jack, sensing that he wasn't going to get an answer from the man opposite him any time soon, continued: "I mean don't get me wrong, I'm having a wonderful time – hot Welshman, great coffee, someone to retell my Burberry story to… it's great. But what is this, is it a date? Is it just a meeting?..."

"I'm not sure" Ianto said in a small voice, smiling a little nervously.

"I don't want you to feel awkward or uncomfortable about what happened, I mean Tosh told me that she thought you were straight, but I thought maybe if I took a risk then… I hope I haven't scared you at all?" Jack said, praying that Ianto would disagree.

The American was used to attracting a fair amount of attention and stringing along a polygamous chain of one night stands and occasional lovers and that lifestyle had suited him for the most part. In the past few years as he had been getting a little older he'd carried on being as flirtatious as ever, but that was where it ended usually, he was looking for something more now… but he just didn't know where to find it. Obviously it was ridiculous for him to think that Ianto might be just the one to settle down with, they'd only met briefly and under somewhat less than sober conditions, however there was definitely something about Ianto Jones…

"No, no you didn't" Ianto replied, seeming a little uncertain but with that small smile still fixed in place. Jack took this as reassurance. "But I need to be honest about something, I don't like men… like that" Ianto finished, suddenly embarrassed once again.

Jack's reassurance was shattered and the young Welshman observed his noticeable change of expression and so hurriedly went back to trace over his own footsteps "Well, what I mean is… I don't think I do, but I think I, I mean there's you and there's just something about… well you." Ianto mumbled. "I'm straight, but as soon as I remembered what happened last night I knew that I wanted to come and see you today, needed to come and see you, what does that mean?"

"It doesn't have to mean anything…" Jack suggested, still a little disheartened, but at least comforted a little by the fact that even if Ianto was 'straight' that he seemed to have some interest in him, even if it was merely friendly… besides, if I can get a few cocktails in him again… the thought flashed wickedly through the American's mind.

"How so?"

"Well, we could just forget about the whole thing if that's what you'd prefer" Jack said, biting his lip after he had, hoping that the next words uttered from the Welshman's perfect mouth wouldn't be 'yes please'.

"No, no I don't want that it's just… I don't know what I want. This all feels very strange, I mean I don't even know what it is I am feeling… if I'm feeling anything or… and we barely know each other and…"

"And?"

"Well, could we perhaps just try getting to know each other a bit better, you know being friends?" Ianto asked timidly, not convinced that this was the best course of action to take, but it was either this; runaway and never look back at that man; or reach out across the coffee table and kiss him until he couldn't think about any of this anymore. This seemed by far the least hasty action and the one least likely to cause a sense of regret, and after all, other than the few things he had learnt over this weekend, Jack was a complete stranger… albeit a rather handsome and easy to be with stranger… Focus Ianto…

"If you like" Jack smiled back. To him it was a bitter sweet result. He'd know it was unlikely that Mr Jones was interested in men but still he had been hoping that he had been wrong, or that he could have changed his mind… He supposed that he had been a little foolish to think so, but at least he hadn't received an outright no. And if they were to get to know each other better, who knew what might happen? And, even if nothing did, he'd still get to spend a large amount of time with the beautiful blue eyed Welshman, and hopefully he would always wear jeans that snug in his company.

"Right. To friendship then?" Ianto shrugged a little, raising his near finished mug of coffee in proposition of a toast.

Jack raised his own mug and met Ianto's, waiting until the Welshman had taken a sip before he spoke. "To bromance" Jack winked, causing Ianto to splutter a little on his drink… this was going to be fun Jack mused.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **_Hello all! This one was first under the name of 'Love it When you Call' in GPYRO. Hannah xxx_

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><p>"Ianto" Toshiko called, waltzing through into the living room carrying a mug of tea which was precariously sloshing around inside and threatening to spill over the edges. It was a Sunday and almost noon which meant that, unlike the roommate who's attention she was now demanding, she herself was still dressed in her pyjamas (which would most likely stay on all day unless she desperately had to venture out… and sometimes they might stay on even if she did!) and had only been awake for half an hour or so.<p>

"Yes?" Ianto enquired from his arm chair, looking up from his Sudoku and turning to face the familiar sight of his roommate, slightly dishevelled after a good thirteen hours of sleep. As usual, he had risen with the sun and then decided upon heading out for a short jog before returning to eat a breakfast of strong coffee and toast with marmite, followed by a relaxing shower and a change into old jeans, white t-shirt and a favourite burgundy cardigan.

"What would you say to the idea of a sort of drinks and nibbles type do next Saturday? Now that Owen and I are 'officially' a couple we thought it might be nice to host one and invite a few of our single friends, get some quality wine in and have a bit of a formal get together" She finished smiling.

Ianto Jones soon found himself smiling back. It had been almost a month now since Jack's costume party, and since Tosh and Owen first began that awkward stage of a new relationship cursed with the phrase 'seeing each other'… he'd always hated that ambiguous term… but anyway, the young Welshman was sincerely happy for his dear friend who had liked the Doctor for some time now. Initially, he had been uncertain of his suitability as a boyfriend for his beloved Tosh – he'd only previously met him in passing and the young man never came off particularly favourably in these brief encounters – and it had certainly taken him long enough to notice her in return… but after getting to know him a little better, and seeing how strangely perfect the pair were for each other, Ianto had made up his mind that he really was the best thing that had happened to Tosh in recent months.

"Who else might be coming" He asked, mainly out of courtesy, not even giving a second though as to whose names she might list off.

"Well there'll be you, Owen and I, obviously, and then there are his friends Martha Jones and Tom Milligan and Rhys Williams, and then my friend Gwen who you'll probably remember from that Christmas party a few years back and…. Jack" She finished, trailing off towards the end of the sentence and biting her lip a little, nervously awaiting his response.

The Welshman sat opposite her just raised up his left eyebrow in that classic Ianto manner and began to speak.

"Jack? You're inviting… Jack?" He questioned dubiously. "And why might I ask is there an even number of males and females invited aside from him and I?"

"Wel…" Tosh mumbled a little "I just, well I thought you might like…" She trailed off again, embarrassed to admit that trying to set him up with her American pal was another one of the reasons she had for holding this dinner party in the first instance.

"What on Earth sort of a scheme have you got going on here Miss Sato?"

"No, no. No scheme I promise, there's nothing!" She lied, rather convincingly. "But… I thought you liked him?"

The Welshman sighed, he'd known that she would eventually want to talk to him about Jack and find out exactly what was going on, in fact, he was amazed that she hadn't tried sooner. He'd been dreading it partially because he hated opening up to others about his feelings and emotions, it made him feel awkward and embarrassed and naked, but mainly because he hadn't the faintest idea how he was supposed to address such a question.

After that rather bizarre meeting between the pair in Ianto's favourite café he'd barely seen the American; he'd popped in to Cardiff Central Library for a quick chat – but Ianto had been working and so that was all it had been, and he really didn't feel comfortable trying to explain why 'The Karma Sutra' was not a book the library stocked in front of a large audience – and Tosh had organised a pub outing that they had both attended, but there were too many people there for them to have had a proper chance to talk, but they'd both been busy, him especially with that new Burberry contract.

In a way Ianto was glad that things had worked out this way, by limiting his contact with Jack he had managed to avoid confronting the fact that he was maybe (just maybe) attracted to another man, and that he had genuinely enjoyed that one off drunken kiss. But a large part of him was also a little melancholic at the fact that nothing more had really happened between the two of them, friendship wise or otherwise. The Welshman had left that first outing feeling confused and a little terrified by what exactly he might have been feeling, but he had thought he was certain about the fact that he at least would be gaining a new friend if nothing more. When he had met up with him, he'd been struck each time with the same sense of awe at how ridiculously attractive the man before him was… and how ridiculous it was that he found a man attractive… and how ridiculous it was that a man like that could find a man life him attractive… and it was all highly confusing. He was a little ashamed it admit that it had been easier to ignore this and ignore him than well… admit that how utterly upside down and mesmerised he felt in that man's presence.

"Well…" He began to answer Tosh after realising he had remained silent for a good few minutes. He sighed once more, "I really have no idea… I mean I like him yes, and he's hilarious and witty and fun to be with…"

"…And?"

"AND… well, I suppose I do think he's handsome" Ianto almost whispered.

It was Tosh's turn to raise an eyebrow now. "Alright – very handsome" Ianto blushed.

A large grin began to spread across the Japanese woman's face, "Marvellous! So… what's the problem then?"

The Welshman before her sighed for the umpteenth time "I just… it's not me, I mean… I don't _do _men, I don't like guys… not like that and I'm not sure about what any of it actually means and I don't want to do anything stupid on an impulse that I might regret later!"

She just rolled her eyes "You think about things far too much sometimes" She giggled.

"I just can't switch the old brain off" He replied, joining in with her laughter.

"Just take bit more time to get to know him _properly_, and well… see if you firm up on your opinion of him either way in the process, it can't hurt!"

"Fine! But I'm not promising anything! I know what you're like Tosh; you just want a gay best friend to go shopping with and get manicures with and watch Miss Congeniality with…"

"Ianto, you already do two out of three!"

He rolled his eyes expertly, "I know, I know. All I'm trying to say is no pressure ok?"

"None whatsoever, I promise" She replied smiling. "Although you have to promise that you will AT LEAST talk to him on Saturday!" she said, extending her little finger out towards him.

"Alright, fine. I promise" He said, reaching his own little finger out to link through hers and seal the deal.

"Oh and… you wouldn't mind calling him to invite him over would you… I'm just _so_ busy" She begged.

"Fine. FINE. But you had better not ask anything more from me for a good while Miss Sato!" He grumbled reluctantly.

"Thank you!" She giggled as he got up from his arm chair and stormed off to his bedroom to take the call in private.

"Hello you've reached Jack Harkness, international sex god with licence to thrill" the cheerful American voice greeted the young Welshman after several rings, Ianto's own voice caught in his throat at the older man's greeting.

"Umm, hi. It's Ianto, Tosh's friend" He eventually managed to stumble through, suddenly worried a) about whether or not he would actually remember him, after all, it had been a long month and Ianto had never thought of himself as particularly memorable… but more worryingly to him that b) he might have recognised precisely who was ringing him using the caller ID, and purposefully greeted Ianto in that manner.

"Oh hey! Long-time no see!" Jack replied.

Jack suddenly worried that he seemed all too eager in his response to Ianto's greeting because, truth be told; he really was excited to hear from the Welshman. After their enjoyable, if a little unusual meeting at that obscure but lovely café… nothing further had really happened and that was something that he regretted mightily. He'd understood from the young man's uncertainty and awkwardness towards the end of their outing that anything 'romantic' was pretty much out of the question for now at least, the younger man clearly confused by whatever attraction he was feeling towards a man of the same gender and had yet to come to terms with it. But he really had thought that they would make good on their ending 'promise' that they would at least try and make a go of being friends… and he'd hoped that by this stage, a month on, he wouldn't have needed to refer to himself as 'Tosh's friend'. And, he wasn't ashamed to admit, that he had hoped that a month or so might have been long enough for Ianto to make up his mind and for them to become…. more than friends!

But for one reason or another this just hadn't happened. He himself had been incredibly busy with his new modelling contract with Burberry; there had been magazine adverts to shoot, TV commercials to film and billboard adverts to photograph, all of which had require test shoots beforehand and, not to mention, the hours of gym going and grooming etc. that had all been done in preparation.

And Ianto, well, the Welshman seemed to be holding Jack at arm's length and he would have liked to have said that this was down to Ianto's own hectic schedule… but Jack was certain that it was simply that he was having doubts and wanted to forget that any of this had ever happened. So, when he heard Ianto's voice on the other end of the phone line… he couldn't help but feel a little bit optimistic.

"What's with the Tosh's friend bit – thought I'd forgotten you?" He asked quickly, before Ianto had even managed to reply, hoping to tone down the levels of excitement in his voice.

The Welshman could practically hear the wink in his voice. He felt himself blushing a little, he'd been proven wrong on both of his worries as Jack seemed neither to have known prior to Ianto's own announcement that it was in fact him calling, and he certainly seemed to recall who he was. "Well… maybe I don't know… just thought that you might have… well you've been busy and off meeting lots of people with your new contract and…" He tried to explain, flustered to a frustrating extent – he was usually the image of composure.

The American laughed down the phone line, "Well, that's as may be… not met anyone as interesting as you though."

"Oh haha… Jack, you're working with Burberry! You must have met a hundred designers and photographers and magazine editors and other models that are all much more captivating than I" Ianto rolled his eyes.

"Hmm I beg to differ, but I will say that the female model that I've been working with might be a contender" He grinned.

"Well, you can tell me all about it properly, face to face, on Saturday if you like. Tosh and Owen are having a little drinks 'do' at ours and she wanted me to invite you." Ianto said, biting his lip a little as he waited for Jack's reply.

"Sounds perfect! What time?" Jack asked eagerly.

"About eightish I believe… though, should I tell you half seven and then that way we might see you before nine?" Ianto asked sarcastically.

"Oh shut your mouth!" Jack exclaimed, laughing loudly. "I'll do my best to be on time… although you are supposed to be fashionably late to parties!"

"Yes, but it's arguable about how late is fashionable… and what degree of lateness wouldn't be suitable to be sold in Primark!"

"Fine, I promise no more than fifteen minutes tops."

"Deal" Ianto said firmly, chuckling a little. "…looking forward to seeing you." He said with a little less certainty.

"You too! It's a date" Jack said and hung up before Ianto could dispute that fact…

Not that Ianto was entirely certain that he wanted to dispute Jack's throw away comment anyway; the phone call had given him just a glimpse of the connection he had felt with the man at both his party and at the café all those weeks ago. He found communicating with the man as easy and simple as it was to do so with Tosh, whom he had known for five years, and just hearing his husky American voice was enough to bring the image of his perfect face into his mind and distract his usually coherent thoughts. This was why Ianto had limited their contact, because when he was away from Jack, it was easy to pretend it was all nothing, that it was all in his head, a fleeting fancy and nothing more. But a mere telephone call with the man had been enough to remind him how exactly Jack made him feel… and it was terrifying.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **_Greetings beautiful human being, this is the last of the chapters (We Get On) from this AU within 'Girl Put Your Records On', I will hopefully be posting a brand new ch. (both here and GYPRO if it will let me, if it won't it'll be going on GPYRO for a week and then here, just in case not everyone has noticed my adaptations) tonight/early hours of tomorrow so yeah, sorry for all of this! Hannah xxx_

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><p>Almost a week later it was Saturday evening, and Ianto was in the kitchen of his and Tosh's apartment putting the finishing touches to their light buffet spread of snacks and placing all drinks which required refrigeration into the fridge in preparation for their Guests arrival in an hour's time. Owen had come over about twenty minutes before hand, originally to help Toshiko organise the food and drink, but Ianto had taken charge of that one leaving the other two to give the apartment a quick sweep over to make sure that everything was tidy. The couple were excited to be bringing all of their friends together, and Ianto couldn't help but feel a little excited himself, despite his nerves. He was terrified of what might happen, of how he might react, when he had the chance to talk to jack again properly… but no matter how much he was trying to ignore it, his subconscious couldn't help drifting back to the thought that he was ridiculously excited to be seeing Jack in the flesh.<p>

After the business in the kitchen was all sorted out, the Welshman quickly jumped in the shower for a quick freshen up, shaved his already hairless jaw line and spritzed himself with just the right amount of after shave before getting dressed. He'd even gone to great lengths to choose the perfect formal, yet understatedly so, outfit for this evening's 'do' though he wasn't entirely certain why he had made such an effort to select it. He had gone with a pair of skinny leg, smart, black trousers and a pale lilac silk shirt that Tosh had bought him for his birthday not this year but last, and he'd styled his already neat hair into neurotic perfection.

"Somebody's made a bit of an effort" Toshiko winked as Ianto re-entered the living room at five to eight, now fully groomed and dressed in preparation for the night's proceedings. She took in the sight of her closest friend stood in front of her, looking as though he had been painted to this level of perfection, and marvelled for the millionth time at how he ever worried that he wasn't attractive.

"Thank you" Ianto replied blushing a little, wanting to dispute her claims, but having been brought up to know that it was rude to deflect a compliment. "And… you can talk!" He said, admiring the ever tasteful and effortlessly glamorous stylings of his friend. When she wasn't wearing pyjamas, or confined to the standard business wear that he job in medical research required, Tosh had incredible dress sense and tonight she had not let herself down. She was dressed in a sleek, midnight blue fitted dress cut a couple of inches above the knee, and had pulled her hair into some sort of French pleat.

"Thank you" She replied shyly.

"Is no one going to comment on what I'm wearing you wankers?" Owen asked prompting all three of them to laugh.

"Yes Owen you look stunning, quite the handsome prince" Ianto said in the most unbelievably sarcastic tone imaginable which caused a scowl in response from the Doctor.

Almost half an hour later, all of the guests had arrived bar Jack of course, and although Ianto had been expecting a late arrival (and he was certainly never expecting him to stick to his 'only fifteen minutes' promise…) but he couldn't help himself from checking his watch repeatedly, which was earning him a lot of suggestive looks from Tosh and a fair few eye rolls from Owen who – to Ianto's horror – realised must have been informed on all of the 'gory details' from Tosh. He'd tried to keep his mind off the other man, busying himself by mingling with the other guests, finding out a little more about Owen from Martha and Tom who both worked with him at the hospital and having an extensive chat with Rhys about the Cardiff City Rugby match from the weekend, but it hadn't helped much. As each minutes passed his anticipation for greeting the attractive American grew, and the knot in his stomach doubled in size; he had all the classic signs of pre-date nerves… except of course this wasn't a date, because he and Jack weren't dating he reminded himself.

It was 8.45 and Ianto had just finished refreshing everybody's drinks when he heard Jack burst through the door, Ianto was beginning to think that this must be his standard method of entering a room.

"Sorry I'm late I don't even have a good excuse this time – I just couldn't find anything to wear! Pathetic I know, but it's not my worst timing ever…" He announced loudly to no one in particular, captivating the attention of every single set of eyes in the room.

His own eyes searched around the sparsely crowded living room until they settled upon the sight that they had been looking for; Ianto. "Wow, Ianto you look… wow" He said smiling broadly and making his way over to the suddenly rather bashful looking Welshman. A month without proper contact had certainly caused his memories of the younger man to fade, and the resounding image he had held of Ianto in his head had not done his true appearance justice. He took in the slim, toned frame wearing perfect figure flattering clothing, the man's dark hair effortlessly styled, his blue eyes glistening and his skin porcelain and clear; he was flawless.

Ianto shuffled a little awkwardly on the spot, "That's funny, I was about to say the exact same thing to you… but I suppose it might seem ungenuine if I said it now" He replied, suddenly feeling the need to try and play it coolly, and place effort upon simulating the wit which usually came naturally too him.

Jack laughed in response, "Please say it anyway. I might be the face of a multi-national designer, but I'll never turn away a complement" He winked and Ianto rolled his eyes at his self-adoration.

The Welshman too then took a minute to properly look in detail at the man before him. Yes…he mused, just as I had suspected… even more gorgeous than I had remembered. He was pleased to see the return of the 'Captain Jack' retro air force coat, coupled with a very pale sky blue, skin tight shirt which left no thought about the man's muscular chest to the imagination, and that jaw line… Why on earth is he even remotely interested in me?

"You look very… handsome" He eventually settled on. "Would you like me to take your coat?" He offered out of courtesy, and curiosity to see the fully exposed, shirted torso of the American.

"Thanks" He replied, allowing the Welshman to help slip it off his shoulders, certain that he didn't just imagine the slight lingering brush on his shoulders as capable hands glided the sleeves down his arms.

"I'll just go and put it in the bedroom, it's where we're keeping all of the others"

"Mind if I join you?" Jack suggested, wiggling his eyebrows initially but regretting it almost immediately as he saw the young man before him begin to blush, and realised that he had probably over stepped the mark and was pushing him out of his comfort zone.

Ianto just smiled politely, walking over to his room without another word to Jack, and over hearing a conversation between Owen and Martha in the process.

"So, what's the deal with them then? Are they like… I don't know, together? I mean, they seem really… into each other" She asked in a hushed tone that wasn't quite low enough.

"Well…" Owen began. "It's kind of weird and all I know is what Tosh has told me, and Tosh only knows what Ianto has said…. but I think Ianto himself doesn't really know what's going on to be honest. But basically, they kissed at one of Jack's parties, but Ianto, as far as he knows is straight… except he thought that maybe he might like Jack and…"

Ianto quickly walked into his room, not wanting to listen to anymore. He breathed out a quick sigh, composed himself once again and returned into the living room to find a rather anxious looking Jack waiting almost outside his door.

"Sorry I didn't mean to… I was just joking, hope I didn't make you…" He mumbled, much to Ianto's surprise the uber-confidence of Jack Harkness seemed to be failing him for once.

"No no, don't worry about it; it's fine." Ianto said, smiling reassuringly even though inside his stomach was flipping at a gargantuan rate.

"Good." Jack grinned back. "So… what have you been up to then? I was hoping to have seen more of you…" Jack commented.

Ianto sighed a little; this was the question that he had been dreading. "Not much if I'm honest. I mean there was that antique book convention that we ran at the library last week that had taken a lot of organising… and I had to take Myfanwy to the vets a fortnight ago. But… I guess I've really not been that busy, not busy enough to, well… to see you. I just was, I still am…" The Welshman trailed off, bright fuchsia in the face by the end.

"It's alright, I get it." Jack said, stilling grinning away, but his eyes had dulled a little.

"It's nothing against you Jack, in fact it's quite the opposite, but I've never even considered the possibility before that I might like a… and then every time I talk to you it's so easy to just… oh I don't know, but at the same time my heart is pounding with nerves, I feel claustrophobic and it's just it's all making me so confused and it's just a little bit petrifying."

"Seriously, it's ok. Really. You aren't the first person I've met whose struggle with the same issues."

"Really, how did things work out? What happened to them in the end?"

"Me." Jack replied and winked. The younger man gulped nervously in response, but couldn't help but feel pleased with anticipation for the future. Perhaps if other people had got over it, then it wouldn't be such an issue for himself? …If he wanted to get over it rather than just forgetting about it, blocking everything out… He'd always thought of himself as a very open minded, modern individual, but then again he had never expected to start feeling like this.

"So, now then _you _really have been busy; how's it all going? Who is this fabulous female co-model that I have been waiting to hear you rave about?"

Jack laughed a little. "Yes, I certainly have been run off my feet, before the various shoots even began there was training and stuff, and I even had to take a few dance classes for one of the television adverts!"

"Dancing?"

"Yup, you'll like that one" He winked. "Oh and I was so excited when I found out who I was working with – none other than KAREN GILLAN! The minute they told me I almost embarrassed myself by screaming like a girl and acting so very not cool… but I contained it. She's just wonderful, hilarious as well as gorgeous!"

"Wow that's incredible!" Ianto replied genuinely. "Karen Gillan eh… she certainly is beautiful, should I be jealous?" He asked before his lips could stop him. He didn't know what had made him think that, or why he had then gone on to say it, but he certainly hadn't meant for it to ever be uttered out loud. Why should he be jealous anyway?

Jack raised an eyebrow up in surprise, but was inwardly pleased by the other man's response. "No, I don't think you have anything to worry about" He grinned.

As time passed, the pair continued to chat about anything and everything, from work, to hobbies (Jack's particular love of rowing had come as a little surprise to Ianto, but Jack had suspected that the Welshman might have been into reading… after all, he was a librarian!), to music (Jack was a die-hard eighties fan whereas Ianto preferred his classic rock.), with neither of the men noticing particularly they the distance between them had gradually been decreasing across the three hours that they had been stood there…yet the distance between the pair and the rest of the party seemed to have doubled. Ianto had noticed however, that Jack had become increasingly 'touchy feely' with each drink, frequently reaching out to brush the Welshman's arm or nudge his waist, and the younger man really wasn't complaining.

Jack glanced over to the rest of the group and was amused by what he saw, the other six were somewhat less than sober, and the initially 'single' friends of Tosh and Owen had suddenly coupled up: Martha and Tommy and Gwen and Rhys.

"Right!" Gwen said as Rhys finished another beer straight from the bottle, grabbing the now empty glass receptacle from him. "Time for spin the bottle!" She almost squealed.

The other guests seemed almost as eager to engage in the childish and old school game, however Ianto didn't seem quite as keen, he was certain that the bottle was going to land on the one person that he was hoping it wouldn't… which was coincidentally the one person he was hoping it would land on too.

Jack and Ianto walked over to where the rest of the group was now assembling in a small circle, sitting crossed legged on the floor of the living room, just like teenagers at a sleep-over. As they sat down to join them in a similar pose, the American deliberately leant just slightly up against the shoulder of the Welshman next to him, and not so accidentally rested his hand lightly upon the younger man's which he held outstretched behind his back. He couldn't help the small grin that spread across his lips at the realisation that Ianto wasn't moving.

Ianto initially had frozen when Jack's body came into contact with his own, it was always awkward when you were sitting next to someone, no matter who it was or how long you had known them, when you accidentally brushed up against them… there was always a choice to make, a) ignore it and carry on, or b) apologise and quickly move away. Ianto had the apology ready on his lips but then Jack's hand found his own behind his back, hidden and out of sight of the others, a little secret gesture, and he decided that he couldn't bear to move away.

Gwen set the bottle down in the centre of the circle and with a wicked gleam in her eyes began to spin, setting the game in motion. All eight sets of eyes watched the spinning, green, glass object with intense interest until it eventually came to a stop, neck end pointing towards Rhys. He leaned in for a small, delicate peck – not wanting to push his luck most likely – but the Welshwoman in her slightly-more-than-tipsy state turned it into a fierce and passionate full on 'snog' in front of their audience, encouraging a wolf whistle from Owen and a pair of blushing faces that pulled apart gasping by the end.

The game continued for about twenty minutes or so, various partners having to engage in the mandatory, bottle dictated kiss, including even a quick peck between a rather grumpy Owen and an equally unimpressed Rhys and a 'far too fucking short' (as described by Owen, ever the man of eloquence) kiss between Gwen and Martha.

Neither Ianto or Jack could properly engage in the game in quite the same way as their friends, and not only because neither of them had yet to have been selected by the bottle, but mainly because they were both anticipating and dreading and yearning for the inevitable.

Finally the bottle did land on Ianto, but it was only Tosh sitting at the other side of it, so he quickly flit his eyes towards Owen to gain a nod of permission before leaning in for a very chaste peck with his close friend. The kiss itself hadn't been awkward, he and Tosh had done it before – and more than just a mere peck – on drunken evenings out way back when in their university days, but neither had ever had any romantic interests in the other. It was the ending of the kiss that worried Ianto, because it meant that it was now his turn to spin the unpredictable and intimidating beer bottle, and await his fate.

He span the green article, and watched as it twirled around at an impossibly, teasingly slow pace until it eventually landed on the man beside him, the man whom he had already kissed before and was surprisingly keen to do so again, the man whom he was pretty certain that he was becoming infatuated with, and the man who right now was looking at him in a way which suggested he felt the exact same way.

For a second time seem to stand still, all eyes in the room moved simultaneously from the bottle to Jack to Ianto, thoughts roaming as to what was about to happen. As Ianto began to lean even closer in to his neighbouring friend, he knew in his mind that this was it. He couldn't pretend any longer that he wasn't attracted to this man, he couldn't deny his feelings or put it down to a mere passing, idle thought, no matter how scary it was – he knew in that instant that for reasons which weren't all justifiable, he wanted Jack. And he could read in the American's features and body language that, despite the unlikelihood of a gorgeous, charming, witty and charismatic model being interested in a plain and uninteresting man like himself, that he wanted him too. In fact, Jack didn't seem to think he was boring, he didn't seem to think he was plain or below his own league; to Ianto's utter disbelief, the American seemed to find him attractive and that on its own heightened Jack's appeal in return.

This is exactly why the Welshman was so startled and surprised when their lips eventually connected, that Jack had not drawn him into a lust fuelled, passionate kiss… but rather pulled away after the merest peck, a kiss briefer even than the one he had just shared with frowned as he looked up towards the older man who was staring straight at him, ignoring the somewhat disappointed audience around them.

Then suddenly Jack turned away and grabbed the bottle himself, returning to lock eyes with Ianto again a second later:

"My go now" He winked.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** _Well I said it might be the early hours of the morning... and it's quarter to one! Never mind eh? Hope you enjoy this one and remeber folks in a weeks time 'Girl Put _Your Records On' will be gone" Hannah xxx

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><p>Jack Harkness sat, waiting with hope and anticipation as the chunky green tinted beer bottle span in the middle of their cross-legged circle on the floor of Tosh and Ianto's living room, turning at an impossibly slow speed until the neck of the bottle eventually settled upon himself. He smiled; an opportunity like this is precisely what he had been waiting all evening for. Admittedly, he didn't ever imagine that such a chance would be found through the somewhat childish medium of spin the bottle, but as soon as Gwen had suggested the game he saw that the harmless game would be an easy method to help answer some of his resounding questions regarding a certain Welshman.<p>

Over the past month or so in which he had hoped to get to know the recent fascination of his mind and senses, one Ianto Jones, the American had been disappointed with their lack of contact and the Welshman's almost ignorance of him. It had been his hope that, even if a romantic relationship was out of the question at this moment in time (a factor which he hoped to change as their friendship progressed) then he had hoped that they would at least make good on his toast to 'bromance' that was made back in the little café. But there had been nothing, and he'd been absolutely ready to give up and accept the fact that he had just pushed the young man too far out of his comfort zone, that he'd lost this one and it was a shame, but now he could just forget about it all.

But then he received that telephone call… asking him over to his and Toshiko's apartment for a little social gathering and though, in fairness, it was actually Tosh inviting him over and not Ianto himself, the mere fact that it was _Ianto _who had made the call and not Tosh restored his hope and his faith in his abilities to 'woo' members of the same gender. And his initial 'reunion' with the man after he burst through the door to the party, their exchange of awkward – on his part at least – complements and lists of excuses for their lack of contact had only reaffirmed this hope further.

However the rather pressing issue still remained that Ianto Jones, in his own professional opinion, thought of himself as straight for all intents and purposes and though he had admitted (sort of) that he found the American attractive and on the few occasions that they had met up it was undeniable that the pair had found entertaining each other effortless… Ianto still seemed to hold a great sense of confusion and uncertainty which Jack was struggling to see past, which led to the formation of three critical questions:

1) Did the Welshman actually 'fancy' him or was it merely admiration?

2) Was he, or would he ever be, interested in him romantically or were his confused interests merely curiosity?

And 3) had he actually enjoyed that surprise kiss that they had shared at his costume party, or did he regret it entirely?

Jack's smile widened as he observed the entire room glancing between Ianto, himself and the bottle, no doubt waiting for him to attack the younger man's mouth with a frenzy, passion fuelled, show stopping kiss as the two of their mouths moved ever closer together. And, as much as Jack wanted nothing more than to kiss the Welshman senseless and leave him practically begging for a repeat and more… and as much as he was confident enough that he was capable of delivering such a kiss… in the climax of the moment he remembered an earlier conversation with Toshiko:

"_Jack if I'm honest with you I don't really know for certain how he feels about it all, but I think that he likes you even if he's not so sure of it himself just yet. But, one thing I know for certain is that nothing will ever happen if you push him. Ianto doesn't respond well to over-dominance, people telling him what to do and forcing him to come to decisions… he likes to mull it all over privately and make up his own mind and settle on the decision that is right for him – so just don't push it ok?"_

He knew that kissing Ianto to the point of near oblivion right there in front of everyone was most certainly not the way to progress, and not kissing him at all wasn't an option as the Welshman's response to this kiss would provide him with almost all the information that he require to proceed in one of two directions: to pursue the younger man further, or leave well alone. And so it was that a rather cunning plan formed inside his mind, that if he gave him simply the briefest and most insufficient of kisses then he could form a judgement – if the Welshman seemed disappointed then he would go with plan A, and if he seemed relieved he would follow through with plan B – simple!

After their two sets of lips had connected for just a second, Jack reluctantly pulled back from the far too short kiss, heeding Tosh's words wisely and hoping that he could now answer at least two out of the three of his questions. Once he had withdrawn his face far enough away from the ever so inviting, close proximity he was suitably pleased with the sight that greeted him. The Welshman was sat in a state of high confusion, a broad frown spread across his delicate brow and a sense of disappointment emulating off him (and their audience for that matter) at the length of the kiss.

Question 1: Check. Why would he feel disappointed by the lack of a real kiss if he didn't fancy him just a little?

Question 3: Check. Well, sort of check… but surely if he wanted to kiss Jack now, it was logical that he must have at least partially enjoyed their previous encounter.

Question two, and possibly the most crucial of the three, was still outstanding but the confident American was convinced that he would have an answer to that one as well by the end of the evening.

"My go now" Jack winked at the still baffled Ianto and began to set the green bottle spinning once more, secretly hoping that it might land on the man beside him so that he might make a repeat experiment, just to double check his findings… or that he might go in for the full blown kiss that he, and Ianto by the looks of things, fully craved. Unfortunately it landed on the lovely, but overly intoxicated by this stage, Welshwoman at the party – Miss Gwen Cooper – who leaned in for a much longer and… sloppier (?)… Kiss than the previous chaste one he had shared with Ianto. The American couldn't help but grin as he noticed the increasing look of frustration grow upon the Welshman's face in response to this kiss, and, was that a hint of jealously?

Gwen began to spin the bottle next and had the luck of landing upon Rhys for the second time that evening, giving the two men both a chance to breathe and to mull over what had just happened. Ianto was left feeling highly confused about where he stood with Jack; just as he had made up in his mind that he perhaps really did like Jack, and wanted to kiss him again and organised his thoughts enough to the point where he might even be persuaded to try out a date with the man, and then he goes and does _that._ Leaves him hanging in the air, practically gasping for more of a kiss that up until that evening he wasn't sure he would ever want, whilst Gwen received the full Harkness treatment? Had he lost interest in Ianto? Had he played him about with his uncertainties for too long? Or had the American simply found someone better Ianto mused, after all, he was working with Karen Gillan of all people and even she would be an easy target for 'Captain' Jack. Whereas Jack was just sat their grinning like the cat that'd got the cream, satisfied that his talents hadn't failed him that evening.

The game continued for just one more spin of the bottle as it slowly disintegrated; with Rhys's turn the bottle came to land on Gwen _again _and this time the pair just didn't stop once they had begun 'snogging' as Gwen preferred to refer to it as, and the rest of the party seemed more than happy to wander off and leave them to it, not wishing to seem voyeuristic but at the same time not wanting to interrupt.

Martha and Tom quickly paired off too, sinking in to the background to talk intimately and get to know each other a little better, and the only original couple Tosh and Owen quickly followed suit and headed off into the kitchen. This of course left Ianto and Jack together, positioned in the 'sort of' hallway area by the front door, neither of them speaking, both of them just intensely looking at the other, cogs whirring in brains, and each of them determined not to be the first one to break the silence.

After several timeless minutes it was Ianto who finally spoke up:

"If you don't mind my asking, what on Earth was that?" He asked, not sounding angry or cross or upset… merely curious and puzzled.

Jack laughed lightly and smiled his 150 watt grin that was in no doubt partially how he landed his modelling contact the Welshman mused, that or the jawline. "I don't know what you're talking about" He replied with faux innocence, much to the younger man's annoyance.

Ianto, predictably, groaned a little "I think you know what I'm referring to" He said, solidly refusing to fall for Jack's 'act'.

"No, sorry not a clue. Care to elaborate?" If it was possible, the smile widened with his reply.

The Welshman rolled his eyes, a gesture that Jack found pleased him surprisingly, "Oh for goodness sake… you know a few moments ago… in the game"

"What game would that be?"

"You know the one I mean!"

"Hmm sorry, care to refresh my memory please?" The American almost choked on his 'threatening to erupt' laughter here.

"The spin the bottle game!" Ianto shouted through a whisper in a most exasperated tone.

"Ah yes of course! Sorry, I must be getting forgetful" The Welshman rolled his eyes a second time at that. "What exactly was your problem with the way that I 'played' the game?"

"What do you think?" Ianto asked, a hint of a blush reddening to tips of his ears.

"Well I wouldn't like to be presumptuous…" Jack trailed off.

"With Gwen you… but with me you… you pulled away and…" He replied rather flustered and embarrassedly, a complete rosy tint spreading across his cheek bones now, a sight which Jack deemed most appealing.

"So you're saying that you aren't happy with the fact that the kiss ended to quickly?" Jack asked just to make sure that he was receiving the right signals.

"Yes" Ianto half whispered back.

"You're saying that, not only were you disappointed with the length of the kiss, but that you wanted to kiss to happen in the first place?" He grinned smugly.

"Yes! Yes okay."

"Well then…"The American said quite plainly and shrugged as if his next move should have been obvious to the suddenly startled Welshman who now found Jack's arms locked firmly around his waist, their lips about to make contact any moment now.

Time seemed to waste away around the two of them as they stood their lips connected, tongues exploring new surroundings and hands (mostly Jack's) roaming. Initially Jack had been gentle, still a little wary of how Ianto might respond and not wanting to shock him too greatly, but as soon as Ianto had realised precisely what was going on he responded fiercely, eager to finally engage in the lustful and passionate kiss that he had desired all evening. They only pulled apart when it became absolutely necessary to catch their breath, though both sets of arms remained firmly encasing the other man's sides.

"Will that about do?" Jack asked through breathless pants, with a wicked gleam dazzling in his near, if not wholly, perfectly blue eyes.

"I think it might" Ianto replied in an equally ragged voice.

"About? I'd better make my argument clearer" Jack replied, capturing the younger man's expectant lips once again.

Ianto was certain now, now that the two of them were stood there together as closely as humanly possible, sharing as much of their lips and tongues and breath with each other as possible and with him having more fun through such an act than he ever thought possible, that he was sure that he 'like' liked Jack… that he wanted to kiss him, wanted to perhaps try dating even, and that no matter how unlikely and foreign and unusual it was for him to be having such feelings for another man, there was no denying that those feelings were inherently there.

After once again only pulling apart when it became vitally necessary for oxygen uptake, Jack began to speak.

"So, what does this all mean then Jones, Ianto Jones? Have you had a change of heart?"

"If I'm honest no, because I'm not sure that I ever really felt that I only wanted us to be friends… let alone less than that… I think I just convinced myself of it. So no, not a change of heart, more an acceptance of something I already knew" He smiled, satisfied with his analysis of their situation.

Jack on the other hand wasn't so satisfied with his "clarification" of things, and whether that was down to the wine or the rush of their activities that had made his thoughts cloudy and his head just a little giddy he was unclear about, but he was sure that he needed a little help with understanding Ianto's speech. "Wait, let me get this straight a second, do you like me?"

"Yes."

"Do you think I am attractive?"

"Yes."

"Did you enjoy kissing me just now?"

"Yes. For goodness sakes Jack, I know we don't exactly know each other very well but I wouldn't have put you down as the insecure type" Ianto laughed jokily.

Jack gave him a slight, playful elbow dig in the ribs as a response, "I'm not being _insecure _you would have needed a 'Ianto' dictionary to decode that answer you gave me and I just wanted to make absolutely sure that we were on the same page" He smiled.

"Well we are, I think"

"So… this means that you would be interested in perhaps going out on a date with me some time… you know dinner, or a movie maybe?"

Ianto gulped a little nervously, this was what he wanted, this was what he had been expecting Jack to ask… but it didn't take away the fact that every second of time spent with Jack still terrified him a little bit, however it also gave him a thrill and a buzz and was just, for lack of a better word, fun. "Well… it would depend on whether I was washing my hair that day or not…" He said, determined to be brave and smile and go for it.

"Hmm…I think I might have to keep an eye on that sarcasm, and perhaps come up with a suitable punishment if it persists" He replied grinning devilishly.

"Perhaps you will… though for now dinner or a movie or whatever will suffice" Ianto smiled.

"Excellent". Jack replied back leaning in to kiss Ianto on the cheek before breaking away from their embrace to allow the younger man to replenish their drinks.

Question 2: Check. If that wasn't adequate clarification that Ianto was romantically interested in him then Jack couldn't think what would be, perhaps if he held up a banner with 'I think Jack Harkness is hot' on it, or such like, in very public place… that would certainly do the trick Jack grinned to himself.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **_Hello! Thank you to all who have reviewed and or read so far - thanks to all of you beautiful, wonderful crazy people who are actually readin this I recieved my largest number of hits ever! Hope you all like this chapter just as much, there might be another one coming tomorrow as well providing that i am not shattered after work! Hannah xxx_

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><p>At around one o'clock, the party gradually depleted and the evening wound down to a close. Toshiko's guests were departing in dribs and drabs with Owen and Jack being the last of them to leave for a variety of reasons: 1) as Gwen and Martha had drank rather a little too much rosé to remain socially interactive for much longer, and as such their male counter parts were quick to offer to share taxis home and 2) as Jack and Owen were rather taken with their hosting companions. Owen's late exit could have been easily predicted; not only was this a joint social event held between Tosh and he, over the past month he had quickly become infatuated with Miss Sato – besotted even – and so it was no surprise that he was near enough the 'last man standing'. But Jack's delayed departure was not guaranteed at the beginning of the evening, as it was only the events that had occurred in the last hour and a half or so that had made the American reluctant to leave, and Ianto just as reluctant to see him go.<p>

Although the thoughts had been stewing around in his mind, rather unwanted at times, tonight Ianto had decided to act upon impulse and confess his inexplicable yet inherent attraction to the other man. The Welshman was by no means a reckless person, he wasn't rash or irresponsible and he rarely made a choice unless he had thought over the decision for a good while and as such was entirely certain that he was doing the right thing. He'd realised a lot sooner than he was willing to admit that for whatever unexplainable reason, he was attracted to Jack, and the month since their last meeting had given him the time to realise that although deciding to follow through on his attraction to another man didn't initially seem like the right choice, not following up on them would certainly be the _wrong _choice. And so for once in his life, that night the Welshman had decided to just 'roll with it', to go with a decision that he wasn't one hundred percent sure about and see how things went, and the experiment had proved a success.

"I'm sorry, but I really think I'm going to have to go" Jack grumbled through kiss-swollen lips as he squinted with tired eyes at the time on his watch face.

Ianto half pouted at this inevitable revelation, wishing that he had just had more bottle earlier on in the evening to have spoken (and more) with Jack like this, rather than needing the encouragement of a silly childish game. "Really?"

Jack chuckled, partly because things seemed to be heading in exactly the direction that he had hoped for, but mostly because it was indecent for one man to look that gorgeous when sulking. "Really, really I'm afraid – dark, baggy eyes don't sell clothing I'm afraid and my PA Donna will get really pissed if I turn up tired on Monday and need her to talk me through everything in baby steps"

_He probably could still sell clothing even with bags under his eyes… _Ianto mused and the notion of protesting entered his mind briefly but, ever the gentlemen, he decided that it was only fair to let Jack get a proper night's sleep at home rather than keeping him up all night with his chitter chatter so he replied instead with: "Of course" and an honest smile.

"I'll say goodnight then, but don't worry, I'll be back soon!" The American grinned before stealing away one last breath taking kiss from the perfect lips before him.

"Night then" Ianto whispered, slightly short of breath, against Jack's lips and the older man retreated out of the front door with a parting mega-watt grin and a wink.

The Welshman was in somewhat of a daze during the next five minutes and near enough missed Owen's departure, but it wasn't hard to guess at what had happened: he and Tosh would have stood there playing 'one last kiss' for a good few minutes until eventually one of them put on the sensible hat and bid the other adieu – it had probably been Tosh tonight, she's the one who'll (with Ianto's assistance of course) need to clear up the remnants of the party tomorrow morning. It was only when the door slammed shut behind the doctor that the Welshman's thoughts were snapped away from their merry reflections upon the evening and back to reality in the now empty, aside for used cups and bowls and Tosh of course, living room.

Tosh smiled at the sight of her half stunned best friend: "Someone's happy then I take it?" She asked, grin widening.

"Maybe…" He replied, a small smile breaking through the corners of his 'trying to remain serious' mouth.

"Good, good. I'm glad my party turned out to be such a success…"

Ianto's eyes widened for just a second, returning to normal in a flash so quickly that the gesture could quite easily have been missed, and then quirked an eyebrow upwards questioningly. "This wasn't _why _you organised tonight was it Tosh?"

"No of course not! It's not all about you Ianto!" she mocked chastised, "but… it may have been _one _of the reasons" She grinned and Ianto grinned back.

"Well, I'm glad that you did."

"Excellent. Oh and, you owe me twenty quid by the way!"

"Pardon!" Ianto threw back incredulously.

"You – as in you, Ianto Jones of Cardiff – owe me – as in need to give to me, Toshiko Sato – twenty quid – as in twenty English pounds… or twenty three euros and 89 cents… or thirty one dollars and thirty five cents… I'm really not all that fussy!" She replied back, squinting a little as she converted the currencies in her head.

"Alright! No need to get sarcastic! What exactly do I owe you the twenty pounds for is what I intended to ask, Miss Precise?"

"Do you remember back in our first year of Uni…?"

Tosh had begun, only to be cut off by her companion, "Let me stop you there Tosh, aside from parts of the actual degree itself, I don't remember a _great _deal from first year…"

She laughed "Ah yes, Ianto Jones back in the days as a rebellious youth, it's funny to think that you've turned out so well, I used to worry what might become of you" She winked and Ianto smiled, remembering his not so sensible first year. "But there was one night, after we went to go and see that utterly bizarre fashion show in Greenwich with your sister; you know the one with that Zebra skin and the antlers?"

"Oh yeah…" That had been a very odd experience indeed Ianto recalled, the pair of them had travelled down to London for the day along with Rhiannon… it was something that the students of the UCA were putting on and though he admitted that perhaps cutting edge fashion wasn't his strong point, it had been a downright weird collection.

"Well, do you remember who we saw there?"

Ianto tried to tap into the memory, and managed to unlock the image of a young girl – red hair, slender of course, fairly rounded face… "Of course, Lily Cole, before anyone had heard of her!"

"Precisely and do you remember a certain little wager that we made?"

"No, I'm sorry, you've lost me now Tosh. What was it?"

"Ah… well… do you remember telling me how hot you thought she was?"

"Sort of…"

"Do you remember saying about how you would never stand a chance with someone like her?"

"Yes…"

"And, do you remember saying – after me reassuring you that were definitely not 'out of her league' as you had put it and that that you never know what might happen – that if you ever found yourself dating a model you would give me twenty quid. So… pay up!" She half squealed triumphantly through her widening smile.

The Welshman groaned, suddenly recalling the entire exchange. "Oh come on! This hardly counts!" He protested.

"Why? Because he's a man? He's still a model… and a blood good looking one if you don't mind my saying!" Tosh counter argued.

"No! It's not because he's a man, it's because you practically engineered this whole thing! _You _took me to that party of his, _you _gave me his number and _you _invited him here tonight! You can't win a bet if you forced the bet to come true…"

"That's as may be" Tosh smiled, noticing that Ianto hadn't picked up on the minor slip he had just made, that he had inadvertently answered the question Tosh was unsure of asking. "But, you're dating now then are you? I mean, you didn't deny it…."

Ianto blushed, realising that he hadn't even noticed what Tosh had been implying… it must be the wine her mused. "I, I didn't say that… I mean well, he sort of asked me on a date… but it was nothing definite… and one date doesn't mean we're dating…"

Tosh squealed slightly, "He asked you out on a date? How exciting!" The matter of the twenty pound bet had now been forgotten.

"Well, I said sort of…" He replied, not being able to help smiling back. "Oh god, what have I got myself into, a _date _with Jack Harkness" He laughed, but thought privately to himself that he really was quite excited, as well as nervous, to see exactly what a date with a man like him would entail – or a man for that matter.

"Rather you than me!" She joked.

"How long do you think I should wait to call him… if he doesn't call me I mean… should I call him at all? Oh I am so rubbish with the' rules' of dating…"

"Well, I don't think there are any 'rules' when it comes by Jack… he certainly never follows any! If I were you I'd just wait and see if, _when, _he calls you and then go from there"

"Yeah…" The Welshman agreed, thinking to himself that if he hadn't heard anything in five days' time he might drop Jack a quick text…

"Anyway, I'm going to head off to Bedfordshire now I think – I'm absolutely shattered! The living room will just have to get sorted out tomorrow! Night Ianto." Tosh said, giving her roommate a quick hug before she retreated off to her room.

The Welshman shortly followed suit and headed off to his own room to engage in his first peaceful night's sleep in about a month. His night would no longer be plagued with endless tossing and turning, and hundreds of confusing thoughts racing around his mind, trying to force decisions to be made… tonight the young man slept with only one thought in mind.

Tosh and Ianto set to work the following morning, attempting to restore their living room back to its regular, pristine state after the previous evening's merriments which had the beneficial knock on effect of taking Ianto's mind off Jack and whether he would hear from him soon… for a short while at least. By lunch time, the Welshman was feeling a little on edge and with today being a Sunday, he didn't even have work to distract him from his thoughts. Tosh had tried to get him to go for a run in Bute Park with her as a distraction, and as much as Ianto knew that a run probably would indeed take his mind away from Jack for a little while, he remembered that when the pair of them had met in that quirky little café, that Jack had told him he often went running in Bute, and thus decided to give it a miss. He picked up his well-thumbed copy of Brighton Rock that he was re-reading for the umpteenth time, but couldn't settle into the story at all. Sighing to himself, he wondered if he should just resign himself now to needing his emergency 'security' plan of texting Jack after the five day period…

But, as it turned out, Ianto did not have to use his five day security text; in fact he didn't even have to wait a whole twenty four hours until he heard again from the American as Jack called up his mobile mid Sunday afternoon.

"Ianto Jones, hello" He answered his ringing phone without bothering to check the caller ID.

"You know you really shouldn't answer your phone like that… you have _no idea _what it does to the person on the other end of the line" The familiar American voice replied through a laugh.

Despite knowing that the other man couldn't see his response, the younger man still felt his cheeks heating up a little at his words. "Oh…umm sorry… Hi Jack!" he stumbled through, mentally cursed himself for sounding too enthusiastic.

Jack laughed again, "Hey don't be sorry! I'm reeeaallly not complaining!"

Ianto managed a slightly nervous laugh in reply, "So, how are you, did you get home alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm great thank you I sort of hooked up last night" Ianto could hear the grin in his voice and he reciprocated, "And I got home fine cheers. How are you?"

"I'm good; now that you mention it I think I might have 'hooked up' with someone last night too…"

"Oh really? I bet he's dashingly handsome and funny and smart…"

"Yeah… but he's got a bit of an ego problem" The Welshman laughed.

"I do not!" Jack replied, joining in with the laughter. "Anyway, I was calling to see if you were free on Friday night?"

Ianto bit his lip slightly with excitement "Well that depends…"

"On what?"

"Whether the reason behind why you're asking me is better than the evening bleeding the radiators that I have planned…"

"Well, I can't promise that, but I was hoping we might make good on that date?"

"Yeah, sure, I'd love to" Ianto replied, seriously now.

"Great… I thought maybe you'd like to come over to mine and I could cook for us? I can't promise that either the food or the company will be very good, but I've got an eye for a good wine and an extensive DVD collection"

"That's sounds lovely" Ianto replied. He was surprised by Jack's suggestion, he hadn't deemed the American as the 'stay in at home' type, but he was also slightly glad that their first date wouldn't be out in public as, although he was quickly – more quickly than he thought! - coming to terms with the concept of a date with a man, well with Jack anyway, he was worried about running in to anyone he knew from work or Uni or his sister… Perhaps that was one of the reasons why Jack had chosen a more private setting? After all, it would come as a bit of a surprise to any one of his friends who had only ever known him to be 'straight', and he wasn't certain that he was ready to explain something to others that he couldn't even fully explain to himself.

"Perfect, If you come over about half seven eight? Tosh'll give you my address, and I promise to try and not be running late!"

"You really shouldn't make promises you can't keep you know!"

"Oh shut up you before I change my mind!" Jack laughed. "See you Friday!"

"Yeah, see you then, bye!" Ianto said as they disconnected the call.

Friday came about surprisingly quickly in the end, both men had been worried at the beginning of the week as to how they would last the duration of the wait before they saw their counterpart again, but it turned out that distractions (a lot of photo shoots in Jack's case and a second hand book sale to organise at the library in Ianto's) had been plenty. It was now quarter to seven on Friday evening and Ianto found himself once again stood clad only in his underwear staring at his uninspiring wardrobe with a critical eye, just as he had done this time a little over a month ago before his last visit to Jack's flat.

"Tosh!" He called out; opening up his bedroom door to find her sat rapidly typing something on her laptop at the living room table.

Tosh rolled her eyes, having expected Ianto to summon her any minute now for clothing advice. "Coming Ianto!" She replied and headed on in to his bedroom ready and willing to offer her assistance.

After re-iterating her original comment on what Ianto should wear to Jack's apartment on his first trip (that the boxers he was stood in would surely suffice) the two of them eventually pulled together a 'suitable' outfit. Ianto was now dressed in a plain, V-neck, burgundy long sleeve t-shirt, chunky navy cardigan and skinny leg grey jeans which the Welshman had feared were too tight, but Tosh deemed absolutely perfect for an occasion like this. He had just enough time to shave, again, apply a little after shave, double check that his hair was neatly styled in place and clean his teeth for the millionth time that day before a text alert came through to his mobile, letting him know that his taxi was waiting. In the end he'd gone for a half past seven taxi, knowing that it would take twenty minutes to get to Jack's address, and figuring that the American should be sort of almost ready by the time he arrived.

Ianto rasped on the wooden door nervously, surprised to find that it was opened almost immediately by a very calm, prepared and ready looking Jack.

"Ah Ianto, you dropped something" He said, by way of a greeting.

Ianto looked puzzled in response: he hadn't dropped anything. He had a sly glance either side of him to double check and found nothing, which only further heightened his confusion and caused his brow to knit together slightly for a minute, the frown only releasing to allow a questioning eyebrow to be raised.

Jack smiled and replied "My jaw" with a wink. Although it had been a cheesy line to dispel any lingering worries in the younger man's mind, Jack really had meant the complement – in his opinion tonight Ianto looked, as always, stunning as hell.

Ianto sighed, smiling incredulously. "Did you _really _just say that?" He asked.

"Really, really" Jack grinned.

Ianto laughed; a date with Jack Harkness – this is going to be fun.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** _Sorry guys! This would have been up sooner but I was tired from work yesterday and toinght I just got back from seeing MCFLY! I know it's embarrassign to admit that I like McFly... but they were blood brilliant and they played Transylvania and! And I can console myself by saying that I like the Beatles and the Black Keys and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Lady Gaga and normal music too :) ANyway, I'll shut up and let you read! Hannah xxx_

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><p>Jack was determined that tonight would be the first night of the year or perhaps even, when considering the grand scheme of things, the first night of his life on which he wasn't running late. He'd invited his Welsh companion to arrive between seven thirty and eight o'clock that evening and, although he suspected that Ianto would indeed arrive nearer eight to allow for Jack's typically tardy behaviour, the American had firmly made up his mind that by seven thirty on the dot he would be ready. The vegetarian lasagne (he'd settle upon the vegetarian option for two reasons – 1. He himself preferred it to the traditional meat variation, and deemed it tastier and 2. He hadn't actually thought to ask Ianto whether he ate meat or not and felt that this way he was accounting for either scenario) would have just gone in the oven, the bottle of Brunello di Montalcino would be out on the side 'breathing', the flat would be spick and span and spotless and he would be fully dressed and groomed in 'suitable' clothing… and this strategy so very nearly went to plan…<p>

It was twenty past seven and Jack was fully prepared - dressed in a short sleeved, grey, fitted polo shirt and dark blue wash straight cut jeans, his hair was freshly washed and gelled into his signature style and his teeth had been cleaned and flossed – the rich, roasted vegetable lasagne was bubbling contentedly in the oven, he'd done a quick spot check of the apartment and everything was tidy – and more importantly, there was nothing embarrassing out on display - and the red wine had been opened into a decanter twenty minutes previously. In short, everything was ready and not only was Jack not late for once in his life, but he was actually now at risk of experiencing the impatient sense of anticipation that being _early _entails. But then disaster struck. As he went to open the oven door to check up on the lasagne, Jack's elbow caught the neck of the crystal decanter, causing the entire vessel to topple over.

Thankfully the decanter itself, which was produced and purchased in the early thirties and had been passed on to Jack from his Uncle, didn't incur a single crack, chip or scratch. Unfortunately though, the lid had slipped out during the impact and the entire contents of the decanter was now running down Jack's clean clothing, across the counter top, down the sides of the cupboards, and on to the floor.

"Bollocks!" The American shouted out with anguish and hastily began clearing up the trickling red liquid, not attempting to keep any of the dirtied cloths or cleaning fluids away from his garments which were most certainly ruined now. Jack had never been one for excessive tidying or neurotic levels of cleanliness but he rather got the impression that Ianto might be and so he made every effort to get the very last traces of the wine clear from the kitchen, and then took off his soiled clothing and tossed it into the washing machine to be dealt with in the morning. Afterwards, he retrieved a second bottle of the Brunello di Montalcino from the wine rack – praising the fact that he'd bought two – to be poured into the decanter along with a bottle of Chianti that could be drunk whilst the other wine was 'breathing'.

He anxiously glanced at his wristwatch: 7.40. Ianto could be here within a matter of seconds and he was still stood there in his lucky stars and stripes underwear with traces of the red wine still lingering on his bare skin. The errant though of allowing Ianto to open the door to greet this sight of him crossed his mind, the idea of the Welshman removing the last traces of alcohol with his tongue… but the thought was shaken away as quickly as it arrived; Jack understood that Ianto was probably nervous enough about tonight (which is precisely why he had suggested they meet at his house instead of going out, he'd hoped there would be less pressure on all parties, but the evening had begun with a stressful start for Jack at least) and he didn't want to over whelm him or scare him away.

After a quick splash of a flannel, soap and hot water Jack rapidly changed into a second pair of jeans – black this time – and a white fitted t-shirt that suitably hugged his well-developed chest muscles. The light beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead during this manic rush of action were wiped away and his hair was readjusted into its patented style and there was just a second for the American to pause and breathe a quick sigh of relief before he heard a light rasp on his door at ten to eight.

So…I might not be early, and it may have been a little bit of a mad rush to get to this point, _but _I am definitely not late. Jack concluded happily and went to open the door.

"Ah Ianto, you dropped something" He proclaimed as he swung the door open enthusiastically.

The American chuckled inwardly to himself as the puzzled young man before him pulled his eyebrows up into a quick frown, let them settle and then raised just a single brow inquisitively at his remark.

Jack smiled and replied "My jaw" with a wink. Cheesy chat up lines were not usually the Captain's style, he'd never had to go further than 'can I buy you a drink' to attract the object of his interest's attention in a bar, but he thought that it might help ease any tension and make the Welshman feel at ease.

Ianto sighed before him and lapse into and sceptical smile "Did you _really _just say that?"

"Really, really" Jack grinned, causing Ianto to laugh. "Well, come on in then if you dare…" He added mysteriously ushering the Welshman in to his 'humble abode'.

The two men walked together through to the apartment and Ianto took in these surroundings for the first time since the fancy dress party, surprised to find that the apartment seemed very different when it was occupied by just two people in the absence of a drinks and snacks table and general party clutter. The door opened to a small reception-esque area containing Jack's phone and letter rack and shoes, and then swelled in to a spacious living room, the walls painted in a bright white. A few well selected paintings and a couple of choice photographs of Jack's various modelling shoots were hanging on the walls, there was a wooden upright piano against the side wall, a large book case, record player and stack of vinyl was against another and the brown leather sofa – angled towards the television –was near enough in the centre. There was a half wall between the living room and the kitchen/dining area and three doors leading off into two bedrooms and a bathroom accordingly, Ianto presumed. The décor was minimalistic and neat, with a few potted plants dotted about, and a Venetian gilded edged mirror; Ianto suspected that perhaps on a typical day the overall appearance mightn't be quite this tidy, but never the less Ianto decided quite firmly that he liked Jack's apartment rather a lot.

"Just make yourself feel comfortable and I'll get us both a glass of wine" Jack said smiling before exiting to the kitchen to pour out two glasses of the Chianti.

Ianto had a little walk around the interior of the living room, admiring the collection of books and appreciating the very fact that Jack owned a record player as so few of his friends listened to vinyl these days and he'd thought that he and Tosh were the only people they knew who still owned one. He lingered by the piano for a second or two, allowing his fingers to trace lightly across the top as Jack re-entered the room.

"I didn't know you played" The Welshman said smiling as Jack handed him a glass.

Jack nodded and escorted Ianto to the sofa and replied: "Yeah… have done ever since I was a kid and my Mom made me take up lessons, singing lessons too, and I hated them at first but I don't know what I'd do without music for a little light relief now" He chuckled. "I have a full grand piano back in my house in the states; I'd have loved to have brought it with me though… do you play at all?"

"I dabble, but I'm not anything special, and I haven't played in years now… Where abouts in the States are you from?" Ianto asked intrigued at the revelation that Jack still owned a home out there.

"I'm from Hudson County, New Jersey. I lived in Manhattan for a while whilst I was modelling and then moved back to Bayonne when I packed it in. Then after a while I got bored without a career so, I moved over to the UK four years ago when I got a job as a photographer in London, but it was only a temporary contract and when the time to move on came, I decided to stay in the Britain but give Wales ago… never could resist a Welsh accent" He winked at Ianto who began to blush just a little. "I was going to sell the house in Bayonne when I moved, but I bought it outright with the money I earned modelling so it's not costing me anything to keep, and I just can't bear to part with it."

"Wow, I've never lived anywhere other than South Wales! Grew up in Newport and moved to Cardiff for University." Ianto laughed.

"That's' just as well, we wouldn't want that accent of yours to become diluted now would we?"

Ianto smiled. "Do you have much family out there?"

"There's my Mom and Dad who still live in Bayonne, and my brother Gray who lives in Boston now – I try and visit them as frequently as possible. What about your family? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"My Mum lives in my old house back in Newport and my sister Rhiannon lives in the Cromwell estate with her fiancée 'soon-to-be-husband' Johnny"

"You're lucky that they're all so close"

"Yeah I guess I am" Ianto smiled. "Though it does mean that nothing stays private from them for very long" He laughed.

"Like this you mean" Jack replied gesturing between the two of them.

"No! Well… yes… but I didn't mean… I umm…" Ianto said getting a little flustered, wondering how he should explain to Jack that while he was sure his family (aside from a few jokey comments from Johnny) wouldn't be bothered in the slightest, he didn't want to broadcast anything while it was all so 'new'.

Jack swiftly cut off his anxious mutterings with a delicate kiss, the first that evening, on Ianto's mumbling lips and laughed as he withdrew to see a rather surprised Welshman who had most definitely stopped talking.

The two of them then continued to talk about little aspects of their private lives: about what Jack thought about being a model V.s being a photographer (he enjoyed both equally, though modelling gave him an excuse to be a little vain which was always a plus in his opinion); Ianto confessed that he secretly rather enjoyed the weekend children's reading group sessions at the library that he'd been roped into a year or so back; both compared their respective music tastes and found that they agreed on a great deal (and that they both agreed that vinyl was definitely best); they'd swapped favourite films and books and Jack had been pleasantly surprised to find that Ianto was a closeted musicals fan as well as a diehard action movie fanatic. They pretty much discussed as much as could be crammed in to the hour they had before the lasagne was cooked and ready to eat, giving the two of them a chance to get to know each other and confirm their strong, positive opinions of their respective companion.

Jack was midway through a story, which if anyone else had been telling Ianto would have been certain that they were making it up or at least exaggerating the truth, when an egg timer went off in the kitchen.

"Ooh, that's dinner ready" Jack beamed and leaped up.

"What are we having?"

"Roasted vegetable lasagne, does that sound ok?"

"Mmm sounds good to me" Ianto smiled.

"Yeah… I wasn't sure if you were vegetarian or not… so I thought I'd better play it safe." Jack confessed.

The Welshman laughed: "Better safe than sorry! But for future reference, I'm not"

"Well then, next time I'll have to cook you my infamous chilli con carne then!" He replied, gesturing for Ianto to follow him through to the kitchen.

_Next time…. _Ianto mused, yes; let's hope there's a next time.

The pair of them sat eating amongst infrequent chatter in Jack's kitchen, enjoying both the lasagne and the 'back up' bottle of Brunello di Montalcino.

"You were right about one thing Jack, you certainly do have impeccable taste in wine" The Welshman said as the American went to top up his now empty glass.

"I don't like to boast but…" He laughed, not revealing the truth to Ianto about the wine related disaster from just under a couple of hours previously.

"Oh really?" The Welshman contested sarcastically, raising and eyebrow and smiling – he'd already grown used to Jack's occasional boastful moments that somehow seemed more like 'self-appreciation' and, more often than not, pure fact than boasting. "You were wrong about one thing also…" He finished smugly.

Jacks brow knitted together for just a second before he asked, "Oh. What was that then?"

Ianto's smile widened. "You told me you weren't much of a cook… and that my good friend was _definitely _an inaccurate statement!"

"Thank you! But there's usually about a 50/50 chance as to whether my exploits in a kitchen will actually turn out successfully or not and I didn't want to get your hopes up!"

"Well today it was most certainly successful" Ianto concluded. "And speaking of getting my hopes up, I think it's about bloody time you told me about how you and Tosh met because the suspense is killing me – it better live up to my expectations!"

Jack laughed, "I thought you might ask about that tonight… alright then – but firstly, you have to absolutely promise me that it won't alter your opinion of me?"

The Welshman rolled his eyes, "Can it really be that outrageous? On the first day that I met you, you told some shocking work story; you introduced yourself as 'Captain' Jack; and proceeded to kiss me in front of all your guests – I've already established that you're notorious, flirtatious and a bit of a wild card, surely nothing you can tell me now could make me think _even _worse of you" Ianto joked.

"You'll have to answer that one for yourself when I'm finished" Jack winked. "Basically, one night about two and a half years ago after I'd just moved to Cardiff, and clearly before you and Tosh had started living together again, I was out in Splott for the evening – as was the lovely Miss Sato" Jack's eyes twinkled as he began the tale in a fairy story like manner. "I was meeting up with one of my new work colleagues John Smith who's also a photographer well known for his eccentricity and notoriety for a drink in the Cardiff arms and Tosh was out for a meal with some girlfriends I think"

Jack took a pause for breath, and to create suspense; Ianto nodded for him to continue.

"John and I had been chatting for a good while now, maybe several hours – certainly several pints worth of time, when out of the blue he turned to face me intently in the eye and asked me if I fancied playing a game. Naturally I said yes, and so he dared me to take off all my clothes once we were outside of the pub and run naked down the street and in return I dared him to take the sword that was hanging above the fireplace in the pub."

Ianto raised an eyebrow with intrigue. "And how exactly does Tosh fit in to all of this?" He asked, surprised at how his quite, subdued and serious friend could have found herself talking to a naked Jack accompanied by a madman with a sword.

"All in good time" Jack replied ominously. "So, I left the pub first and prepared myself for John's approaching exit by stripping down to my t-shirt and boxers, ready to remove the remaining garments as he left the building running with the sword. When the moment came, I quickly stripped and followed after him, attempting to lose the trail of the pub landlord who was chasing after us. John ended up chucking the sword over to me before hiding in some bushes as I continued to run, still being followed by the landlord, and who did I end up running into…?"

"Tosh?" The Welshman guessed.

"Precisely. I literally ran straight into her as she was about to get into a taxi, and she seemed rather shocked bless her, but I didn't have a second to waist through reassuring her that I wasn't a madmen or a sex addict or on drugs as the man following me had almost caught up, so instead I rather cheekily asked if I could share her taxi… You could tell that she wasn't quite sure how to respond, but she let me in the taxi – though the cabbie himself was none too happy about my state of attire – and we drove away with the landlord cursing behind us. During the journey I explained everything to her properly, and she seemed to settle down a little, which was just as well because I suddenly realised that I had left my keys in the back pocket of my jeans which were now lining the streets of Splott. With it being far too late to call out a locksmith and with me being far too clothes-less to hang around on the streets until morning Toshiko rather reluctantly invited me back to her apartment to sleep on the sofa."

"Really? That seems unlike Tosh! Letting a stranger, and a naked one at that, into her home!"

"Well, what can I say, it's the American charm and the jaw line" He winked. "Anyway, I went up to her apartment with her and she lent me her dressing gown – which I think I still have somewhere, unsurprisingly she didn't want it back! – and we had a cup of tea and a long chat before heading off to bed/the sofa. In the morning she cooked me breakfast and we had a bit more of a talk before I called a locksmith and left after exchanging contact details with each other, as across that bizarre little escapade we'd grown to realise that we had rather a lot to talk about. We met up a few infrequent times in pubs or bars or restaurants before our meetings became regular occurrences and we became good friends… it's a bit of a weird one really" Jack finished laughing and gasping for breath after telling such a long tale.

"You're telling me! It's a heck of a good story to be able to tell people though! What happened to the sword?"

"Do you know what, I'm not sure… John asked me for it the following day, but I couldn't remember where I'd put it and Tosh didn't have it at her place… I guess I must have left it in the taxi!" He laughed again and Ianto joined in.

The two men cleared their plates and glasses into the kitchen sink to soak and moved into the living room once more to take up their seats on Jack's sofa; Ianto glanced at his watch: twenty past ten. How had it grown so late already? He'd, well they both he hoped, had been having such a good evening that he hadn't noticed that the evening was slipping through his fingers so rapidly. Though, just as he was thinking this, Jack leaned in towards him and connected their two sets of lips together in a deep, lust fuelled kiss that made time stand utterly still. The room was completely silent and neither man could focus on anything but the sensation of the other's lips against their own, the feeling of another tongue invading an awaiting mouth, the feeling of cool hands roaming under shirts to find warm waists or hot backs… they sat there, joined together as closely as possible given their current restrictions, for what seemed like years, only pulling apart for Ianto to whisper nervously against Jack's soft lips:

"I've had a really great time tonight, we should do it again sometime…" He hoped he didn't sound desperate.

Jack pulled back a little further and grinned devilishly with a wicked glint in his eye, "Ah, but the night is not over yet" He whispered almost predatorily in a suggestive manner which sent shivers down the younger man's spine and set anxious butterflies flying in his stomach.

Ianto gulped, "Jack I umm… you know I haven't… I mean it's late and" He stuttered, not sure how to confess his complete lack of experience of anything beyond kissing that two men might be able to do together, or confess the fact that he wasn't certain that he was quite ready to find out…. but Jack put a swift stop to his worries.

"Relax Ianto" He said smiling and planting a brief, light kiss on the other man's cheek, before getting up of the sofa and waling over to his DVD cabinet to pull out two boxes. "I was simply going to ask: Point Break or Bad Boys II?" He grinned, holding up the two choices.

Ianto breathed a sigh of relief and smiled back, "Point Break" He replied.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** _Good evening all! Hope you are all well! I myself feel ridiculously ache-y from FOUR HOURS SOLID (well two, half hour break, then two) of netball on Thursday and almost hurt too much to write this! (Warning: I may be exaggerating a tiny bit...) Hope you enjoy this chapter! Hannah xxx_

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><p>By the time the film had drawn to its end, it was near enough half past twelve and with great reluctance, both men decided that perhaps it was time to call an end to the enjoyable evening. The past two hours had flown by, much to both Ianto and Jack's disappointment, and this rapid passing of time had left both men feeling mournful that their first date was over, and yearning for further 'chit chatting-dinner eating-film watching- kissing and cuddling and maybe more-ing!)' based events. This evening had been a test of sorts for both men which would prove once and for all that Ianto was ready and willing to abandon (most) of his doubts and that Jack would be willing to wait for him to become fully comfortable with the whole situation. In the end the night had been proven a success as far as both aspects were concerned as the two men both learned that they were far too interested in their counterpart, both on an intellectual level and on a level of physical attraction, to let any previous worries or misconceptions intervene with the pleasure that they had enjoyed tonight and on any other night.<p>

Jack had eagerly placed the disc in the DVD player, pleased at both Ianto's choice of the two films and at how positively the date had been going so far, and went to sit down next to the Welshman once again, mentally planning his route that would edge him closer and closer towards him, when he realised that he had forgotten about something:

"Ooh popcorn!" He grinned and turned around on the spot, only to turn back in a frantic flash a second later, "Which do you like best – sweet or salted?" He asked Ianto who was fighting back a laugh at his behaviour.

"I honestly don't mind but…"

"But?"

"Well, don't think I'm odd or anything…" Jack raised a contesting eyebrow upwards but Ianto continued regardless "but I kind of like both of them together, mixed"

"That's weird"

"Well thank-you-very-much" The Welshman replied back sarcastically, but good humouredly.

Jack laughed, "No, _you're _not weird – it's weird! That's exactly how I like to eat my popcorn – don't you think that's strange!"

"It is a bit, everyone else – even Tosh – has always thought it was a bit peculiar to mix them, but I have pointed out to her that it can't be _that _odd if Pret A Manager sell mixed bags of 'sweet and salted' popcorn!"

Jack laughed, "Exactly!"

Ianto got up to 'help' (not that even Jack require help operating a microwave) Jack out with the popcorn despite his insistence that he was his guest – his date – and so should remain sat down and comfortable. But Ianto had been rather surprised at how well the evening had gone, and how very much he had been enjoying himself, and he was almost fearful that if he let Jack out of his sight for too long then he would suddenly wake up to find that it had all been a dream and that he still had their first date to come or, worse still, wake to find that they had never arranged a date in the first place. So he had followed Jack into the kitchen under the pretence of 'helping' to make sure that his American friend (boyfriend? date? the man he was seeing?) didn't disappear into a cloud of smoke. That and of course the fact that he fancied a coffee…

"You don't mind if I…?" Ianto asked gesturing towards Jack's coffee machine, unsure of whether it was exactly polite to request coffee in someone else's kitchen, but he had a tendency to grow sleepy during films and definitely did not want to risk falling asleep in the middle of their first date.

"Sure, sure, go ahead" Jack said, reading the instructions on the back of the popcorn packets, "or if you don't mind holding on a second or two I can get it for you if you like"

"No, no don't worry, I know my way around a coffee machine" Ianto smiled.

"Ah yes of course, Toshiko did tell me about the legendary Ianto Jones's coffee" Jack grinned, taking his eyes away from the instructions.

"Really?" Ianto asked, surprised that Tosh had thought to mention that to him but simultaneously worried as to what else his friend may have revealed.

"Indeed, she told me that I absolutely had to try it and that it would completely knock my socks off"

"Well, I can't promise you that, but would you like a cup?" Ianto offered, feeling more comfortable about asking to use someone else's coffee machine now that he would be making Jack a drink too.

"Pretty please" Jack winked and went back to sorting out the popcorn.

Five or six minutes later, and both the popcorn and their drinks were ready and, between the two men, had been carried through to the sitting room and placed upon the coffee table in front of the sofa. Jack and Ianto sat down at either end of the settee and set the film queued up to be played before the American raised the blue and white striped, hot liquid filled mug to his lips and let out a loud sigh of contentment.

"My god Ianto!" He said as sighed again in a manner which made Ianto's cheeks turn the faintest shade of pink. "Wow, that is… that is better than socks being blown off that's… that's completely and utterly orgasmic!" He finished grinning at the now very pink indeed colour that the Welshman's cheeks were turning.

"Umm… thanks?" He mumbled uncertainly.

"No, no thank _you_"Jack winked. "Seriously, what did you do to this coffee?"

"Nothing of any great note, I just used the ground coffee that you had in the cupboard… I just have a knack for it I guess" Ianto replied a little more coherently now that his cheeks were cooling down considerably.

"Yes, yes, you must have magical hands or something" The American concluded, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, sending the Welshman's cheeks straight back to their pinkish hue.

For the duration of the film Jack near enough behaved himself, still wary of precisely how inappropriate and flirtatiously behaved Ianto was going to allow him to get away with being, but did managed to put his plan of action into play regarding their seating arrangements. The pair of them had begun on opposite ends of the sofa, stretching out to fill the space, but Jack had got up briefly to get a glass of water about half an hour in and sat considerably closer on his return. Ianto hadn't complained about this which gave Jack cause to take this as a positive sign and so follow through with his version of the classic 'yawn and arm around' manoeuvre: the 'just bloody well go for it' move, which pretty much does what it says on the tin, meaning that soon enough he was practically sat on top of the Welshman. Their arms were now entwined around their counterpart's backs, Jack's free hand was resting lightly, and very deliberately, on Ianto's upper thigh and their feet were absent mindedly engaging in their own subconscious game of 'footsie'. Jack contended once again in the fact that Ianto had not rejected his manoeuvre or seemed irritated by his movements, and Ianto was secretly really quite pleased that Jack had made the first move towards 'snuggling' throughout the film as he had always felt that it was a nerve wracking decision to have to make when you were with a girl, never mind a man!

The two of them remained like this together and although they sat dutifully through the entire film, by the time it had finished both Jack and Ianto realised that they had hardly paid any attention to the film's plot, but rather paid close attention to their little conversations, their passionate kisses, their jovial commentaries, and their intimate position. Luckily both men knew the film incredibly well and so had easily coped with these welcomed distractions without losing track of events. Despite the caffeine intake, Ianto still partially succumbed to his usual state of sleepiness post film viewing and let out a regrettable yawn as the end credits were rolling on, a gesture which prompted both of them to remember the time.

"I'd better call you a taxi back home, otherwise Tosh'll be thinking that I've had my wicked way with you" Jack joked, but Ianto could hear an air of hope in his voice that he may refuse the proposed taxi back home and opt to remain here for the evening… and Ianto felt so very tempted by the thought, but he knew deep down that it really was perhaps a bit soon for him, and so he accepted Jack's offer instead.

As the taxi's horn flared outside Jack's home, the pair of men shared one last 'shorter-than-they'd-have-liked' kiss before Ianto left, with Jack reassuring him that he'd call him as he went. The ride back to his own apartment had taken a little less time than Ianto had been anticipating, partially due to the fact that it was now rather late at night and there was little traffic on the roads, but largely to do with the fact that his mind was currently overstimulated with chaotic, happy thoughts and reflections on the evening, meaning that when the car came to a halt and the cabbie announced the price of the fare Ianto was quite surprised that he arrived back home so rapidly. Half in a dreamy, sleepy, contented daze he handed over a note to the driver and told him he could keep the change before carefully and quietly walking up the stairs and along the corridor to his apartment, so as not to disturb any of his resting neighbours. The Welshman went to open his front door in an equally surreptitious and silent manner so as not to disturb his sleeping roommate but he needn't have bothered for as soon as he was inside his 'sort of' hall way and had locked the door behind him, Tosh jumped up from the sofa behind him:

"Jones, Ianto Jones – halt in the name of the law!" She declared loudly, startling her roommate.

"Jesus Tosh! Are you trying to give me an aneurysm?" He replied, clutching his chest.

She laughed in an apologetic tone. "Sorry, sorry!"

"That's alright" Ianto smiled now that his breathing had returned to its normal rate once again, "you didn't need to wait up for me you know" He finished.

"Well, I wasn't too sure if you'd be coming back…I hope you realise that you've probably broken Jack's perfect record of first date conquests! And I had to wait up in case you came back! Otherwise how would I have heard all of the gossip from your date before I went to bed?"

"Gossip, that's what you want?" Ianto replied, ignoring her initial reference to Jack's conquests… he wasn't sure if he was flattered that Jack had respected him enough not to push him too far, or worried that Jack wasn't attracted to him enough to… want to…

"Yes! Why do you think I was here waiting to stop you on your arrival home?" Tosh replied quickly, cutting off the Welshman's train of thought.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you Tosh but I'm a bit tired, I think I'm just going to go to bed…"

"No, that's not fair!" She whined.

"Night Tosh" Ianto called, heading towards his room.

"Did you have a good time?"

"Night Tosh" He repeated, still heading towards his bedroom with a smug smile upon his face.

"Did you kiss?"

"_Goodnight _Tosh!" He said firmly one last time before he shut himself in his bedroom for the night. He told himself that he'd give her a little bit of gossip to feed on in the morning, in exchange for the full account of exactly what she had told Jack about him!

By the afternoon of the next day, the Welshman had indeed provided Tosh with a suitable level of 'gossip' from the previous evening and she had indeed, rather reluctantly, repeated back to Ianto everything she had told Jack about him which was nothing too revealing as it turns out, simply that he made fantastic coffee, that he was a very loyal friend and that he was more attractive – in all meanings of the word – than he realised, a statement which had caused Ianto to brush it off with his modesty. Whilst they had been chatting over a cup of Ianto's now infamous coffee and a slice of carrot cake, Ianto confessed to his roommate his uncertainty as to what exactly Jack had meant by 'I'll call you'…

"…I mean was it just a line like the kind womanising men throw at desperate girls in cheesy rom coms… or did he actually mean it?" He asked nervously.

Tosh smiled, "Although Jack has had his fair share of men _and _women, whilst I've known him, he's calmed down a lot recently and I'm sure that he must have meant what he said – he seems to really like you."

"You think?"

"Definitely" She smiled wider, encouragingly.

"So… when do you think he might call?"

She laughed a little, "I'd hazard a guess that it might be in a couple of days, that's pretty much the standard time frame, but like I said to you before Ianto – Jack doesn't 'play by the rules', he just does what he likes, so he could call tonight, tomorrow… a week…"

"Yeah, yeah, ok I get it – just wait and see what he does, ok." Ianto smiled, not seeming to thrilled at the prospect of having to wait until the following Saturday to hear from the American once again, but in the end this was exactly how long it had taken him to get back to Ianto… well sort of…

Jack had been incredibly tied up with filming the new advert for Burberry's summer collection and had hardly had a free moment in which to contact the Welshman properly, and any time that it had seemed as though he might get a free minute, he was either quickly called for a make-up touch up, or whisked away to try on a different accessory with the outfit he had on, or was simply too exhausted to even hold his phone to dial Ianto's number. On the Wednesday of the week after their date he did drop the Welshman a quick text to let him know that he had really enjoyed their date and would like to meet up again soon, just that he was far too busy to organise something now and that he would let him know as soon as he was available, and to most importantly let him know that he was still keen. But despite this reassuring piece of contact, Ianto still felt a little anxious as to how interested Jack really was in him and his subconscious told himself that he would not feel better until he had had a proper conversation with Jack.

By the time that the next Saturday arrived, Ianto was feeling restless and so decided to make Toshiko and himself waffles for breakfast, as he often did when he was over stressed, to be served with a sprinkling of icing sugar and the fresh strawberries that he had gone out to purchase at far too early a time for a weekend morning.

"Ianto, look, I'm sure he'll call you as soon as he has the time" Tosh said reassuringly as she tucked into the breakfast that her roommate had prepared – she hated seeing him distressed, but must admit that she really did like the 'waffley' consequences this mood brought about.

"Really though Tosh? It's been a week! What if he's changed his mind?"

"He won't have done, Jack can come across as a little scatty, but he's always quite firmly set on his decisions"

"Ah but then what if he was just being nice by telling me he'd call, but secretly had made up his mind never to do such a thing and is now exactly following up that plan to the letter?"

"Then why would he have texted you?" She counter argued, smiling smugly as she realised that she had the Welshman stumped there.

Ianto had no suitable come back to make to Tosh, at least not one which would have helped prove his point or grant a telephone call from Jack, and so kept relatively quiet whilst they finished off their waffles, and resigned himself to the fact that he probably wasn't going to hear from the American – today at least – and so went to get ready and dressed for his shift at work. Ianto quickly showered and shaved, dried and style his hair, and selected a pair of beige chinos, a pale blue shirt, navy tie and a fitted V-neck maroon jersey to wear whilst trying to mentally gear him up for what was usually his favourite shift of the week at work. It was a Saturday, which not only meant that he was only working between nine and one thirty, it also meant that today was 'story time' for many of the young children living in the central Cardiff area. The Welshman usually thoroughly enjoyed conducting the session as it allowed him to recapture some of his favourite children's stories, to reminisces back to his acting days in secondary school through putting on funny voices and making large and exaggerated gestures, and he enjoyed working with the children – but today he just wasn't 'feeling it'.

He got through the morning's fairly routine duties of signing in and out books, replenishing the shelves of the library and generally helping those who came in looking for a specific title, genre or author, in somewhat of a melancholic daze. The Welshman had been certain that he would have heard properly from Jack by now, one week on from their date, and was beginning to give up hope – though as the clock approached one, he did try and put on a more cheerful persona so as not to disappoint the eagerly awaiting children with anything less than a 100% enthusiastic performance. It was the regular crowd of proud parents and adorable toddlers and infant school pupils who had turned up today and Ianto found that after feigning the first few cheerful greetings to familiar faces, his mood really did improve a little. And, as he began to dive into the large book of fairy tales that was always a popular hit and started reading 'Rumplestiltskin' aloud, he discovered that he really was feeling as enthusiastic as usual despite his subconscious worries.

Ianto built up the various characters voices, using higher tones for female characters, lower tones for males and a whining, irritating accent for Rumplestiltskin himself. After he'd finished the first fairy tale, Ianto began to read 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' to his audience, again putting on various voices – even daring to put on a posh, snooty English accent for Goldilocks – and made various hand gestures to symbolise Mummy, Daddy and Baby bear accordingly, which all of the slightly older children began to copy. Once the session was over all of the children, and a great deal of the parents, clapped appreciatively and Ianto made his modest thank yous before bidding them all goodbye and heading over to his desk to retrieve his belongings ready for home time.

Just as he was contemplating how coming in to work today had really cheered him up, Ianto was startled to find a familiar voice talking to him from behind.

"I was never that into fairy stories as a kid… but you may have just converted me" Said the American voice.

"Jack?" Ianto turned around, surprised to find the older man here.

"Surprise! I _finally _had a little time off this morning and I went round to your apartment, but Tosh said you were working this morning and that I should come along and listen to you read because you're really good at getting 'in' to the story – so I came! And Tosh was right, you are really good, I've never felt turned on in a Library before…"

Ianto blushed slightly, but chose to ignore Jack's comment for fear of his further expanding on that particular point… "Where were you even sat?"

"I was sort of hidden behind those shelves over there" He said pointing, "I guess you couldn't see me… but I had a _very _good view" He winked.

"No I couldn't see you at all! If I had, I definitely would have dialled it down a bit…I must have looked and sounded a bit ridiculous to you!"

"No not at all! I meant what I said! It was a very enjoyable half an hour spent, and it's so lovely that you get so into it for the kids benefit"

"Well I aim to please" He replied.

"You certainly do that" Jack grinned and Ianto rolled his eyes a little but smiled back.

"So, can I take you to lunch?" The Welshman offered.

"Indeed you may" Jack replied, grinning wider still, "But only if you promise to order in your Goldilocks voice…" He laughed, which earned him well deserved elbow dig in the ribs from the Welshman by his side that was doing his upper most best to contain his laughter and remain serious, he was discovering rather rapidly that remaining serious in Jack's presence was really quite a challenge…


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** _Good evening lovely readers! Isn't the whole clocks going forward thing an utter nuissance! I did try and finish this last night but alas my girlfriends and I had had far too much wine, and my mind was too fuzzyto write anything 'proper'. Hope you like it - it's a relatively long ch... Hannah xxx_

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><p>Once Ianto had swiftly gathered up his jacket, satchel and various paraphernalia from behind his desk, and bid a quick goodbye to his fellow colleagues Lucy and Marcus the pair headed outside of the Library and into the fairly quiet surrounding city centre. With it being a Sunday, the usually hustling and bustling atmosphere that swamped the shopping district had been replaced be a much quieter, calmer feeling that was much better to both men's tastes. With it being early March, there was just enough warmth from the sun to warrant the carrying of excess outerwear, and as the two men started to walk along there was a gentle breeze in the air; all in all, it was pretty much the idyllic spring midday. For a good few minutes, Jack and Ianto walked aimlessly, not talking and barely even thinking, as the soaked in the pleasant settings, so it almost came as a surprise to the young Welshman when his companion did eventually start a conversation.<p>

"So, where are you taking me for lunch then?" Jack turned and grinned to face the Welshman.

Ianto, who had just been dragged out of the calm zone in his mind filled with happy 'nothing-ness' and back to reality paused for a second, and pulled his dark eyebrows together in contemplation. "Oh yes… lunch…" He said "Umm… I have no idea!"

Jack laughed, "So you ask a guy to lunch but have nowhere to take him! Disgraceful…" He winked. "What about that funny little café where we met after my party? What was it called again?"

Ianto smiled, "Sorry, but it was a spontaneous idea – I don't make a habit of asking out the attendees of m Sunday reading group!" Jack laughed.

"Well, I should hope not – some of their parents were pretty hot though"

"Anyway…" Ianto said rolling his eyes good humouredly, "The café doesn't have a name; at least I'm not aware that it has one, but we can't go there regardless as they close on a Sunday."

"Wait, they randomly stay open until gone midnight on a week day or a Saturday – but they refuse to open at all on a Sunday? How bizarre. If we can't go there, then where else would you want to go? Another little café? Pret A Manager? Fish and chips? Neither of us is really dressed for a restaurant I guess…"

Ianto's stomach twisted into a very slight knot of nerves at the mention of the word restaurant… and he decided not to mention to Jack that as much as he was coming to term with the whole 'dating a man' issue relatively quickly and with ease, that perhaps he was still not quite sure about dining out in a restaurant together just yet. It was nothing against Jack of course, it was just that he hadn't actually told anyone beyond Tosh, Owen and a couple of his and Tosh's other friends, about the relationship yet. He thought for a moment, deliberating over their options, and eventually came to an idea.

"Well, it's a nice day… we could just go to M&S and get a few sandwiches and drinks and things and take them to Bute park and have a sort of… picnic?" Ianto suggested, biting his lip slightly nervously, worrying that perhaps a picnic might seem a little childish or that it might be a little below someone who models for Burberry.

"Ooh that's an awesome idea! I haven't had a picnic for _ages_! And you definitely can't beat Marks and Spencer's!" The American smiled.

Ianto sighed a small breath of relief, "Excellent, though I wouldn't announce that too loudly – I think we're still in John Lewis territory at the minute!"

Together, the American and the Welshman made their way towards the large department store and headed straight towards the food hall after skirting around the general crowds of Grandparents, Mothers, unwilling Fathers and impatient children who were huddling near the front in the clothing section.

"Phewww… I thought we were never going to get past all of them" The American laughed.

"Me neither! No matter what the day of the week, what the weather outside is doing, or what the current economic climate is I swear that Marks and Spencer's is always manic!" The Welshman replied, joining in with Jack's laughter.

"Which proves my point that M&S cannot be beaten"

"That it does!"

"What do you want to get to eat then?"

The pair of them stood there eying up the vast selection of sandwiches, wraps, pittas, baguettes, pastas and salads; of salt and vinegar, plain, sour cream and chives and barbecue crisp; of apples and oranges and bananas and mixed fruit salads; and of various cakes and chilled dessert items, intently contemplating what to purchase. It soon became apparent to the Welshman that he and Jack had very different tastes in food. Ianto himself opted for a roasted chicken and tomato and herb sauce pasta salad, a mixed pot of carrot and celery sticks, and a bottle of orange juice. Jack on the other hand had seemed far more interested in the sweet items than the savoury, and had gone for a slice of chocolate and vanilla cheesecake as well as a piece of rocky road along with a chicken and avocado sandwich (he was originally going for a cheese and onion pasty but Ianto had warned him that if he ate it then he could not be expecting a kiss from him, so Jack swiftly changed his mind) and a bottle of orange juice like his companion. He thought that the older man's sweet tooth was surprisingly endearing, and made it all the more impressive that he manages to stay in such good shape for the modelling!

As they were leaving the food hall, Ianto suddenly let out a small groan.

"What?" Jack asked.

"We should have bought strawberries!" He said gesturing towards the display of two for one on their selection of fresh berries. "I love strawberries"

"I've never been that fussed by strawberries…"

"What? Really? I thought everyone like strawberries?"

"Well… I like them when there's cream – _whipped _cream" Jack winked.

Ianto just rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what he was suggesting.

"I like them even more when they're with whipped cream and a lack of clothing" He grinned as he saw the blush that he had been hoping to encourage in the Welshman grow after this second, more explicit remark.

The Welshman tried to pretend that the heat was not spreading to his cheeks and simply rolled his eyes for a second time in response, "I bet you do… but if you're going to carry on making comments like that I think we had better get a move on with walking to the park, or else some poor elderly lady in here might overhear you and have an aneurysm!" He replied, ushering Jack outside of the shop.

Bute Park was relatively busy for one o'clock on a Sunday as the nice weather had brought out many of the local residents; across the expanses of grass there were children and teenagers playing football, people walking dogs, men and women pushing prams along and several early ice cream vans pulled up for business – all of them making the most of the fortunate weather just as Jack and Ianto were. With the park being busier than usual, it meant that there wasn't an available bench for the pair of men to sit at, and so they settled for sitting themselves down in the middle of the grass, using 'Captain' Jack's full length, air force blue military jacket and Ianto's ¾ length camel coat as makeshift picnic blankets.

"Do you know what I've just realised?" Jack grinned just as the pair of them had finished off their lunches and relaxed into a comfortable, food and sun induced silence.

"That penguins can't fly?" The Welshman suggested jovially, pointing towards the penguin logo on a nearby ice cream van.

"Oh haha" Jack replied, giving Ianto a light jab in the shoulder, "But seriously though…?"

"No, but I'm sure you're about to tell me" The younger man replied dubiously.

Jack's smile widened, "That, seeing as we didn't go to a café or anything in the end, that you never ordered our food in that magnificent, posh, high pitched Goldie Locks voice of yours!"

"Well now, isn't that a shame" Ianto replied in a heavily sarcastic tone.

"It's catastrophic!"

"No. What's catastrophic is that you heard me talking like that in the first place! Oh god it's so embarrassing!" Ianto said, placing his head heavily in his hands.

Jack laughed, "It's not embarrassing - it's funny! I modelled on a car insurance advert back when I was a complete unknown, now that's embarrassing"

Ianto rolled his eyes expertly. "That's not that embarrassing… everyone has to start somewhere, whereas that voice…" The Welshman moaned, still not believing of the fact that Jack had actually come to visit him during the story time session, in his eyes he couldn't have picked a worse time to come and visit him at work.

"Trust me, I don't know if that advert is still in existence but if it was I'd … well actually… even if it did still exist I wouldn't show it to you, not even to prove a point – that's just how bad it is! And don't worry, I was so looking forward to hearing that wonderful accent again – it's just become my second favourite accent!"

"And what would be the first?"

It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes now, "your normal, everyday, b-e-a-utiful Welsh vowels of course!"

Ianto's cheeks coloured ever so slightly pink at that, "Well… umm… thank you. But I still can't believe the advert was that bad!"

"Believe me, it was awful. So awful that you'd probably seriously consider never seeing me in private again, let alone in public."

Ianto laughed, "I highly doubt that! Are you sure that you don't still mind seeing me even now you've learned that I have a tendency to impersonate mythical children?"

Jack laughed "Absolutely not, like I said earlier, I was never that into fairy tales as a kid, always preferred something with a bit more 'bite' to it, _but _if I could always hear them read by you I think I'd quickly change my mind – I might have to gate crash next week as well!"

"If you dare" The Welshman warned good humouredly, prompting the older man to laugh "Though it's almost tempting to allow you some and broaden your knowledge of children's stories, I think you'd find if you read some of the older versions then a lot of them would have more '_bite_', as you put it, than you might have first thought"

"Oh really?" Jack asked intrigued.

"Yeah, I mean the Little Mermaid for example – which I've never read to the children for reasons which will follow, is actually a lot more grim than it is portrayed by Walt Disney. The Little Mermaid still saves the drowning Prince, and still trades her harmonic voice in exchange for human legs, but in the true version it's Mermaid's are said to outlive humans but dissolve into foam and nothingness within the sea post death, whereas people live on forever after death with eternal souls and the witch warns her that in order to gain an immortal soul she must find and marry her true love lest she be immediately disintegrated into 'sea foam'. Unlike the Disney version she never marries her Prince, and in her despair at seeing him marry another woman throws herself into the ocean where she dissolves – there's some dispute about the ending, whether that's that or if after she died she was allowed an immortal soul because of her valiant efforts, either way, it's not the most jolly or appropriate story to share with a five year old!"

Jack had been hanging off Ianto's every word – even without the amusing voices he put on to retell the more 'jolly and appropriate' stories to the young children, his expression of the tale was still a captivating performance.

"Wow, that is interesting – I thought they were all fluffy and happy nonsense!"

"Disney has made a lot of them like that, but really they're actually quite gripping even to read as an adult. I think you'd like 'the Twelve Dancing Princesses', a group of twelve incredibly beautiful sister's keep sneaking out each night to go dancing and the only proof their Father can find is that their shoes are worn out each morning, so he calls all the eligible bachelors in the land to watch over them and find out how they are sneaking out, and whoever discovers the secret gets to marry whichever sister he chooses. Of course, none of them can guess what on Earth is going on because each night the men are drugged in their wine and fall unconscious and so cannot witness the Princesses exits, until one night an old soldier decides not to take the wine and manages to follow the Princesses using an invisibility cloak. The King is completely overjoyed and the soldier gets to marry the eldest princess"

"Ooh I _do _like the sound of that! Beautiful princesses, handsome bachelors, fine wine… though I could think of more interesting things to do with a gorgeous nobleman in my room than to drug him and sneak out to go dancing!" Jack winked.

"Oh dear, I don't think I want to ask what!"

"I'd be happy to show you exactly what I mean if you like" Jack almost purred into the Welshman's ear.

"Umm I… um…" Ianto mumbled, slightly breathless and with flushed cheeks, "I'm alright, I think I've got a pretty good idea, and we don't want you getting arrested for public indecency!"

Jack laughed whole heartedly, "Perhaps that wouldn't be great…"

"No perhaps not" Ianto agreed smiling.

The American glanced at his watch, noticing that all of a sudden four o 'clock was rapidly approaching, and remembered that he had agreed to meet up with the infamous sword stealer, John Smith, at six.

"Boy time has really flown hasn't it? As much as I hate to say it, I think I'm going to have to leave shortly" Jack said, his tone laced with regret.

"That's alright" Ianto smiled, though there was a hint of disappointment in his voice, "if you need to you can just go…" He said, not sounding quite as sure as he had meant to.

"There's no immediate rush… just enough time for us to have a walk around the park I'd say" Jack smiled.

Ianto smiled back, wider. "Great" he said, standing up to gather up all of their rubbish and place it in the bin, and then to put back on his coat in order to face a walk in the now slightly chilly afternoon weather, and Jack did the same, before the two of them set off walking directionlessly around the large, pastoral space.

As they walked along past the groups of children who were still playing out on the green, though the ice cream vans and parents with young babies had long since departed, Jack extended a cool hand out to embrace that of the man stood to his left. When the contact was formed, Ianto felt an immediate sensation of warmth and internal happiness spread up through his hand and around his entire body, before remembering that they were in a very public place and for all intents and purposes their relationship was a secret. Quickly he retracted his hand, withdrawing all sensations of warmth, and looked away from the American, embarrassed of his shame. Jack meanwhile cursed internally at the action, wishing he had thought before making what had seemed like a natural gesture.

"Sorry" Jack said through a grimace.

"No, don't be, it's me… I, I'm sorry" Ianto mumbled, turning to face him and fixing him with an apologetic smile, internally mourning the loss of contact.

"Don't mention it" Jack replied, plastering on an almighty grin.

"So…" Ianto began, with a little trepidation, worried that he might have introduced a tension to the air, "You said things had been really hectic at work all week?" He finished, attempting to introduce a new line of conversation.

"Mmhhmm yeah! It's felt like I haven't had a chance to breathe all week! Thankfully the filming for the new advert is all sorted, but there's still a lot to sort out in terms of publicity photos and magazine adverts, and they're talking about using me for their new fragrance advert too – so it's all kind of crazy at the minute" Jack laughed.

"Wow! It's all so… so impressive! I still find it hard to believe that… well… oh it doesn't matter." Ianto quickly tailed off.

"What?"

"Well… that you're interested in me! Your life is so glamorous!"

"You manage to make librarian-ing very glamorous, believe me" Jack winked.

The men continued to walk around for another half an hour or so, sporadically discussing current affairs and further work life details, along with avidly discussing the contrasts between Jack White's various bands and his music produced as a solo artist, and even stopping to discuss the incredibly bizarre question of 'what would you rather eat, a live tarantula or half a baby goat?' which Jack had instigated. Ianto had opted for the half a baby goat, seeing this as the logical choice, especially when Jack had stated that the goat would be cooked, but Jack had gone for the spider as he'd eaten goat and said he might fancy a trying something a little more exotic – a comment which didn't fail to arouse laughter in the Welshman.

"I guess I should get going now really…" Jack said regretfully as they reached the exit of the park.

Ianto nodded, "Of course" He smiled disappointedly. "I've had a really nice afternoon, thank you"

"No, no thank you – after all, it was you who invited me out to lunch"

"Ah… but it was you who surprised me at the library"

"Indeed it was" Jack grinned and leaned in to kiss the Welshman goodbye.

Ianto noticed the incoming gesture, which he would normally have welcomed with open arms – well, open lips – but drew back through instinct, and converted it into a much less openly affectionate kiss on the cheek. Jack in turn pulled back with an offended look on his face which made the Welshman's heart ache, and his lips wish even more that they had partaken in the kiss. "Umm, well bye" Ianto muttered hastily and quickly walked away and towards his flat, silently cursing himself for not having enough courage as he did so, leaving a rather bewildered and confused Jack behind.

Once he had arrived back at his apartment and flung the door open rather loudly, startling the unsuspecting Tosh who was perched on the edge of their sofa reading the Independent, the silent cursing became literal and loud.

"Shit, shit, shit. Bugger, bugger, bugger. Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" He cried out as he threw down his coat and satchel and stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him and flopping straight onto his ready mattress, still muttering curses into the covers.

"Ianto? Are you ok?" Called out the now slightly calmed down Tosh as she got off the sofa and went to knock on her roommates door. The Welshman so very rarely shouted like that, let alone swore, that it had been quite a shock to her system to hear so many loudly repeated words in one go. when there was no reply she opened the door delicately. "Ianto?" She asked again.

"Mnn-go away!" He mumbled into the duvet cover.

"What on Earth is the matter Ianto Jones?"

The Welshman turned over on the bed and hastily sat up, pulling his legs to his chest with his arms and scrunching his hands together. "I'm ruining everything Tosh! Completely and utterly, royally cocking things up!" He groaned.

Toshiko moved to sit on the bed next to her friend and placed a comforting arm around his back and began moving her hand in delicate, soothing circles. "Shssh I'm sure that's not true, Jack really likes you – why else would he have gone to visit you at work today? He could have just gone back home again after he'd visited the flat and I'd said you weren't in! So what makes you think that things are going wrong?"

"I… I think I've offended him… I keep…." The Welshman's words trailed off into nothing.

"Keep?"

"Keep pushing him away in public, acting like I'm embarrassed about all of this… and I feel awful, because I'm not embarrassed as such, I'd just rather it stayed private for a little while longer, just until we've been seeing each other a little longer and I've had the chance to tell my Mum and Rhi, and my colleagues and other friends…"

"Well, that's perfectly understandable, I'm sure Jack will be ok about it" She offered comfortingly.

"I'm not so sure, he looked a little upset when I just dashed off earlier…"

"I'm sure it'll be fine! Perhaps you should just have a bath, get changed into your pyjamas and join me for a coffee and a slice of carrot cake in the living room, yeah? Take your mind of it a little."

Ianto nodded and Tosh smiled. "That's it, cheer up now, and don't worry – I'm not intending to make the coffee" she laughed, leaving the room and the Welshman alone.

Just as Ianto had taken off his work clothes and slipped into a navy towelling dressing gown to walk to the bathroom in, he heard the high pitched bleeping sound and thunderous vibrating noise signalling a text to his mobile. He smiled at the screen as he saw who it was from, and full on laughed out loud by the time he had finished reading it:

Hey! Just wondering if you're ok? Jack x PS: I'm not wearing any underwear.

He replied quickly:

Hello! I'm fine, sorry I acted a bit off, I didn't mean to offend you or anything, I really do like you! It's just, well, until _this _is a bit more definite I don't want to tell my family, and more to the point I'd really hate it if we were spotted out together and they found out from some random mutual friend before I'd had the chance to talk to them – is that ok? Ianto x PS: Oh really?

No offence taken! I understand completely, I shouldn't have tried to kiss you in such an open space, but what can I say, your lips are just utterly irresistible Mr Jones. Jack x PS: Hell yes.

Thank you, I think, yours are equally so… it took a great deal of effort to offer my cheek to them instead! Ianto x PS: Prove it!

Fine! Jack x

Ianto opened the attached picture and laughed when he saw a flamboyant pair of purple boxers with Barney the Dinosaur printed on them with a bright green waistband and 'rawr' written in black lettering around it, lying openly on what he assumed was Jack's bed, accompanied by a caption which read: 'see here is the underwear that I am _not _wearing!'.

Point proven! Oh and by the way… I'm completely naked underneath. Ianto x

Well, he was… sort of… underneath the dressing gown at least.

I hope you liked them! And whoa, whoa, whoa – naked? Your turn to prove I think… Jack x

I did indeed, Barney is quite wonderful! Sorry, some other time, my bath is getting cold! Ianto x

The Welshman grinned; picturing the American's disappointed face upon receiving his reply.

I'll hold you to that! Hope to see you again soon – this Thursday maybe? Think of me while you're bathing ;)! Jack x

Ianto smiled to himself again, perhaps, just maybe, he wasn't messing things up after all. He threw his phone down sloppily on the bed and went to his wallet to withdraw a crisp, fresh purplish note embellished with the face of Adam Smith, and then left his bedroom. The Welshman grinned at his roommate who had resumed her position on the settee and her reading of the paper.

"Jack just texted"

"Oh really, what did he have to say?"

"Oh nothing much… but he was completely understanding just like you said he would be" Ianto smiled wider, skipping out the discussions of underwear and nakedness for fear of death by blushing.

"Good, good" She smiled back, "I knew it would all be alright!"

"Indeed… I think things are going to be just fine" He said approaching his roommate now.

Ianto planted a friendly, light peck on Tosh's cheek and slipped the twenty pound note into her unsuspecting hands. "I believe you won this" He announced, as he retreated towards the bathroom, leaving a wildly grinning Toshiko behind.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** _Evening all! Here's the latest chapter, we're off school for the Easter holidays at the minute so I might be updating this a little more regularly, though I am currently trying to finish off one of my other stories... so it's a bit swings and roundabouts... I hope you'll bear with me! I hope you all like this one! Hannah xxx_

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><p>The American smiled as he sent his last message to the Welshman just across town, smiling both because Ianto had now put the extremely pleasant image of a perfectly pale skinned, dark haired, crystal blue eyed Welshman, soaking sensuously in a warm bath tub full of soapy water and because, essentially, things were ok. If he was being honest, he had felt just a little upset – a little rejected and hurt even – at Ianto's prim and conservative behaviour out on their impromptu lunch date earlier, but now taking the time to think about it away from the current man of his affection he could see the situation from the other man's perspective. When Jack had tried to hold his hand as they'd walked their way around the large park, or when he had tried to kiss him goodbye, he was only thinking about his growing affection for the Welshman that he was attempting to convey, not what publicly displaying such affection would mean to him. For Ianto all of this, 'being' with another man was brand new, a previously unknown to himself and a currently unknown situation to many of his friends, and though he had shown no signs of regret for their actions, or loss of interest in Jack, and though he was steadily embracing the new concepts their relationship entailed – for now he just needed things to follow through at a comfortably steady pace.<p>

Satisfied now that the two men had a greater understanding of where they each stood, Jack rolled up the ridiculous, purple dinosaur boxer shorts and placed them back into his underwear drawer before double checking his hair style and general appearance in the mirror. There was only about five minutes or so before he needed to leave the house in order to be on time for his meeting with John Smith, and the American was determined to use these minutes wisely. It had been a good six months since the men had met and Jack was determined to prove, however falsely, to his friend that he had learned at last to keep better track of time, but he refused to allow his usually impeccable appearance to suffer for the sake of promptness. He flashed one last trademark, 80 megawatt, Harkness grin to his reflection in the mirror, double checking the pristine whiteness of his freshly cleaned teeth, before shrugging into his full length military coat (that was probably far too warm for this time of year) before setting off out for the evening.

Jack was bang on time as he flung open the door of Chiquito's with a flourish, as he always did, immediately gaining him the attention of most sets of eyes in the room including, most importantly, those of John Smith who was stood leaning against the bar, an unusual glass full to the brim of brightly coloured cocktail and glancing down towards his wristwatch, incredulously raising a single eyebrow. He was a tall man, slightly taller than Jack though Jack in turn always automatically stood up straighter in his presence to account for the difference, with dark brown hair and emphasised sideburns with matching dark ancient eyes framed with square black glasses. As per usual he was dressed in a way that might have seemed completely ordinary – a navy pinstriped suit and grey shirt – if it wasn't for his own quirky additions of converse trainers, crazily patterned socks and what looked like an electronic screwdriver tucked into his pocket which was probably a modern art inspired brooch worth a fortune, but looked like mere rubbish to the average eye.

Jack smiled, his photographer friend seemed not to have changed in the slightest since they had last parted – still just as time efficient as ever, still just as eccentric as ever and still just as uncaring of public opinion as ever, or so his accessories would suggest. For a second he stood in the doorway contemplating how lovely it would be to do this, dine out in a nice restaurant and stay for drinks afterwards, passing the time away carelessly, with a certain Welshman… after all, he and John were simply two male friends out for a meal, and that was perfectly fine or at least John thought it was… then again, the eccentric, artistic fellow never had been one for following typical social conventions and as he knew no one in the local area, if anyone in the restaurant formed an opinion of what they thought was going on, then their opinions would be completely irrelevant. Suddenly the thought sparked up an ingenious idea in the American's mind – he should take Ianto out on a date in a town or city somewhere where he they wouldn't come across anyone they knew.

The thought was quickly stored away in his mind for later contemplation as John began to speak.

"You're on time!" He exclaimed as the American approached the bar with a large smile on his lips. "Well… near enough on time, very almost on time… but not half an hour late like last time at least!" He finished, taking his glance away from his watch now. "Captain how marvellous to be seeing you again" He grinned in return by way of a greeting, and enveloped the American into a hug.

"And you too John, it's been far too long… we always leave it too long! And I have to ask, what on Earth is in that drink?" He replied back as the pair of them let go of one another.

"Indeed, yes, we do! I'm not really sure if I'm honest with you, I just sort of got the barman to throw whatever he liked together, but it's quite delicious though! And how many times do I have to ask you to call me the Doctor?"

Jack laughed whole heartedly "At least once more, as always – I never did understand that nickname you've tried to create for yourself"

John rolled his eyes, "Because it's a heck of a lot more interesting than John! Besides, I call you Captain"

"Yes, but that's because of the coat" Jack said, dancing a little twirl and allowing the coat to flare out at the sides.

"Well if I _was _a doctor, then I'd still wear this suit so following your logic you really should just call me what I ask" John pointed out, unwilling to let go.

"Fine, fine, whatever you wish_ Doctor _– just you promise me that you won't start practising medicine 'cause you might be one hell of a creative genius with all of that photography equipment, but I wouldn't like to see you pick up a scalpel" He laughed.

"Nah, I tried med school… never really took to it, far too much to learn, us creative types are better off leaving well alone" The Doctorjoined in with Jack's laughter as the two of them were ushered to their table.

"So what have you been up to workwise?" Jack asked as their food was delivered.

The Doctor shrugged, "This and that, not done anything commercial in a good while, I mostly just capture anything weird or wonderful that I come across that I hope I'll be able to sell to art galleries. Sometimes I feel like just Jacking it all in, pardon the pun, and running off travelling like I did in my youth! How about you? Shot anything interesting recently?"

Jack smiled "You never were one to settle were you? Well… to tell you the truth _Doctor _I haven't really had the opportunity to do much photography of my own, I've been kinda busy… modelling again"

"Really? Wow! I mean, well, it's not surprising in the sense that you still look so good for your age, but, I though you said you'd never go back to it again?"

Jack shrugged, "That's what I said, but then Burberry rang…"

"Burberry? Well blow me!"

"No thank you, at least not in a public bar" Jack grinned.

"Oh Captain Harkness you are as terrible as ever!" The Doctor grinned back, "But really though, Burberry?"

"Yeah, it's kinda crazy to be honest… The creative director rang my old modelling agent Alex and requested me to be the new face for their summer season and I just couldn't say no"

"I don't blame you!"

"It's been so exciting getting back into it all, not to mention the fact that I've been able to work again with many of my old friends and have been lucky enough to model alongside Karen Gillan would you believe!"

The Doctor's mouth gaped open, "Blimey! What's she like in person?"

"She's very… Scottish" Both men laughed, "She's wonderful: gorgeous and ginger, intelligent and witty and hilariously ditzy – what more could you want from a co-worker?"

"Certainly nothing I would want…. I'm pretty certain that there are a couple more things which you might want in a co-worker though…" The Doctor said wiggling his eyebrows (and in turn his glasses) with suggestion, causing a wide grin to appear on Jack's face.

"Aha you know me too well, but for once I thought I'd keep things professional, and I really don't think I'm her type anyway – besides I'm not strictly speaking available" Jack winked.

"Never! The might Captain is in a relationship? What is the world coming to?"

Jack laughed, "I don't know _Doc_"

"Who is the unfortunate girl man or extra-terrestrial then?"

The American opposite him simply tapped his nose secretively.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and grinned "I'll have it out of you by the time the evening is up. But, providing that it definitely isn't Miss Gillan of course, is there any chance of her number…?"

After enjoying a fine meal of spicy, Mexican cuisine, accompanied by various other cocktails containing goodness knows what and a light flow of rather mellow (mellow for the two usually outrageous men at least) conversation the pair of them made their way back over to the bar to continue with their evening.

"It's finally happened" The Doctor exclaimed, maniacally running his hands through his hair as a young female bartender had handed both he and Jack a large scotch. "I'm boring"

Jack laughed at the preposterousness of the statement "What?"

"I'm boring, _we're _boring! We're sat here in a restaurant making relatively normal conversation just like all the other ordinary people! I'm just in the city on business not on some mad adventure, you're in a committed relationship, and neither of us has done anything illegal in far too long a time! We're dull!"

Jack laughed again, "I can't speak for myself, but I know for certain that _you _will never be boring!"

"I beg to differ… perhaps neither of us will ever be completely 'normal' in the conventional sense, but whatever happened to the 'us' who would be in three different cities in one evening? Or who would busk on the streets singing cheesy eighties pop? Or who would run through the centre of town naked?"

"Just because we've become a little tamer since we met two years ago, doesn't make us boring! You're a well-respected photographer now, and I'm working with Burberry – we've both made it big time! As I recall, it was just me that was naked…"Jack joked.

The Doctor smiled, remembering the calamity of the night of the stolen sword, before he answered "But you see my point don't you? Things have changed – I think we might finally be growing up!"

"Heaven help us" Jack grinned back.

Suddenly there was a startlingly loud bleeping noise accompanied by a bar top shaking vibration from Jack's mobile.

"My goodness! Could you have that thing any louder?"

"Sorry, I'm partially deaf" The American replied smiling as he read through the text: it was from Ianto.

Hope I'm not interrupting you're evening! Just wanted to let you know that if you were serious about Thursday (no pressure!) then you're welcome to come over to mine for dinner – Tosh has said that she's happy to stay over at Owen's for the night, provided that you don't attempt to have you're wicked way with me… Ianto x

He replied quickly:

You're not interrupting anything, don't worry! And that sounds lovely – though I'm not sure I can make any promises… Jack x

"Judging by the soppy smile on your face, I take it that that was from the mystery lover?" The Doctor smiled back at him.

"It might have been…" Jack replied, unable to hide the growing grin.

"So… what did he/she/it have to say?"

"_He _was just asking me about a date we'd loosely arranged for Thursday"

"Ah, and does _he _have a name…?"

"Indeed he does and a very nice one too, very Welsh…" Jack replied, his smiled widening even more.

"So he's Welsh then is he? I've always preferred the Scottish accent myself" The Doctor replied, still smiling, slipping into an almost perfect imitation of a Scottish accent by the end.

"No, no, Welsh is best –trust me" The American replied, wiggling his eyebrows.

"If you say so… what is this wonderful Welshman's name then?"

"Ianto, Ianto Jones" Jack announces, and as if on cue, said Welshman had said another text to the American:

Excellent, I'll have to think of something as good as your lasagne to make! To be honest, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't mind it if you tried to have your 'wicked way with me anyway' Ianto x

Jack replied, laughing to himself:

Oh you are going to regret saying that… Jack x

"What's he like?" The doctor piped up, bringing the other man's attention away from his phone.

"He's intelligent, witty – sarcastic as hell when he wants to be, charming in a strangely old fashioned way, he gets embarrassed quite easily but is perfectly capable of being just as flirtatious as I when he wants to be, he's tall dark and handsome, a lot more handsome than he thinks, and… yeah… he's lots of things!" Jack laughed.

"He sounds…"

"Perfect?"

"Exactly" The Doctor beamed back at him. "What are you planning for Friday then?"

"I think I'm going to go over to his place, and he's going to cook us dinner. I'd like to be able to take him out to dinner at a restaurant, like this, but that's perhaps the only imperfect thing about the whole situation… up until we met a couple of months ago he was defiantly straight, and though he's perfectly comfortable with the two of us – I hope at least – he hasn't told any of his family, or very many of his friends, so everything's kind of on the down low."

"I see… that must make things a little difficult"

"Too right! It's been years and years since I last had to sneak around about anything like this, and I can tell you I haven't missed it, but it's worth it" Jack grinned.

"Good" The Doctor grinned back "Now then, what do you say to some karaoke?"

"Always" Jack replied.

After that week, time began to move very quickly for both men, and before they truly knew it a further whole month of happy, intimate, 'new-relationship' bliss had passed by.

Their date on the Thursday following Jack and the Doctor's own 'date' had been only the first in a long line of similar meetings between the Welshman and the America. That particular Thursday had gone exactly as planned, with the two men eager to meet each other again after the previous few days of separation. Ianto had asked Jack if he and John had got up to anything wild or risqué, but was in turn as surprised as John himself to learn that their reunion had been a fairly tame one. The Welshman was also surprised to learn that Jack had been speaking of him to John, and, after frantically asking him precisely what had been had blushed rather a lot when Jack recounted the glowing description that he'd provided his old friend with.

Jack began to consider whether or not he oughtn't to have added 'excellent cook' to his songs of praises for Ianto, as the pair of them eagerly tucked into a delicious offering of Thai green chicken and soya bean curry with rice and naan bread breads followed up with a rich New York cheese cake for dessert, which had satisfied Jack's sweet tooth greatly. Jack had been allowed to select the wine once again, as the Welshman realised that Jack's judgement would easily out do his own, and, as predicted the fragrant bouquet was just right in terms of complementing the meal and in terms of causing both men to relax and loosen up.

Regardless of the playful, teasing text messages that had been shared between the two men, and regardless of the fact that Toshiko had made good of her word and gone to spend the evening over at Owen's Jack behaved as the perfect gentleman and had left at the reasonable (ish) hour of midnight, without having his wicked way with the Welshman.

In the past month, although Jack's schedule with Burberry had been pretty tight what with the final shoots nearing their close, they had tried to spend as much time with each other: at each other's homes, in the cinema, in the park, various music gigs – pretty much anywhere where it was conceivably possible for two straight male friends to be together. Not that that was even as much as an issue anymore as, as the pair of them had grown a lot closer – inseparable to an extent even – during this time, Ianto had started to mind less and less about little displays of public affection, and had even been the one to instigate a brief session of hand holding on a couple of occasions. He still wasn't entirely ready to 'come out' as it were to his Mam or his sister, though he had managed to rally up the courage to tell his work colleagues who, much to his pleasant surprise, hadn't minded in the slightest and were simply happy that he was happy which had to relax him about the whole issue.

It was now a Saturday afternoon in mid-April and Ianto was feeling a little unsure of what to do with himself. For once he had a Saturday off, and had been fully intending to make as much use of it as possible, but when the time came he found that he was strangely lacking in energy and hadn't the energy to complete any of the errands on his list. Of course it wasn't helped by the fact that Tosh also had the day off, and the pair had spent the morning lounging around in their pyjamas and watching children's cartoons on the television… it had been a thoroughly enjoyable waste of time, but now Tosh had gone out to meet Owen and the Welshman had found himself left alone in an empty flat, with nothing to do and no effort to do anything with anyway, even if he found an occupation. The Welshman had thought about contacting Jack, just for a chat more than anything else, in order to try and counter act his boredom, but he knew that today was his last day modelling for Burberry, for now at least, and that he was likely to be incredibly busy. So instead, he simply sighed and opened up today's paper.

After half an hour or so, just as he was contemplating making his fourth cup of coffee for the day, Ianto's phone began to ring, cutting through the silence swamping the room, and providing him with an excuse to stay sat on the sofa for a little longer. He grinned with disbelief as he noticed the caller's ID; yet had been hoping to speak to.

"Phone tag, you're it" The Welshman announced cheerily as he happily picked up the unexpected call.

"And hello to you too!" Jack laughed down the phone. "And how are you today gorgeous"

Ianto felt a blush creeping into his cheeks slightly, "I'm… umm… yeah I'm goof. You? How come you aren't busy getting paid to wear nice clothes, flirt with Karen Gillan and get shouted at by directors?" The Welshman asked jokily.

"Believe it or not, I've been allowed a break! And I couldn't think of a better way to spend it than chatting to you… well… talking to you in person would be better… and doing other things in person would be a _hell _of a lot better…" Jack replied, voice thick with suggestion.

"Hmm… anyway… moving swiftly onwards" Ianto joked back.

"Of course, of course! Actually, I was mainly ringing to ask you something – are you free in a fortnight's time?"

"Potentially, I'm supposed to work Saturday but I have a little holiday left I think, or I might be able to swap shifts if you've got a plan?"

"Well, it's nothing, I mean, don't worry if you can't… but I was wondering… if you would like to go to London with me for the weekend, to see a show and grab dinner and do some site seeing or whatever? I thought it'd be nice to spend a whole weekend together, and it's been ages since I went to London… and, now this is the best part… we could be as openly, publicly 'gay' as we liked as no one you know lives in London"

Ianto smiled, it _would _make a nice change not to have to worry, "That sounds great, it really would be nice to not have to consciously think about whether I should or shouldn't hold your hand, or let you kiss me, or I kiss you…"

"Exactly"

"And… when you say weekend…?"

"The whole weekend. I was thinking we could make reservations in a nice hotel for two nights, catch the train down Friday and leave early ish on Sunday morning so that you'd still make it back in time for your children's reading group –if you want to that is…" Jack said somewhat uncharacteristically nervously.

"Yes, yes… I, I would like that" Ianto replied back just as nervously, biting his lip a little, knowing exactly what this weekend would entail, and suddenly finding himself torn between his curiosity, his lust and his nerves.

"Great" Jack replied, letting out the breath that he hadn't realised he'd been holding, "And for now are we still set for Wednesday?"

"Absolutely, I never like to miss out on the rugby!" The Welshman replied with nervous/excitable butterflies still roaming in his stomach, he wasn't one hundred percent certain that he'd made the right decision, but – as he reminded himself after Jack had hung up the phone a few minutes later – he had two whole weeks to mentally prepare himself for their weekend away.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **_Hello! Sorry it's been a little longer than I usually leave it, we've had family over for Easter and I've been trying (and failing) to revise and trying (and yet again failing) to finish of Ianto Jones's Diary... so yeah... sorry! But it is a long ch and I really hope you like it! Hannah xxx_

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><p>The following two weeks in between Jack's unexpected, yet pleasant, phone call passed unbearably slowly for Jack. Not only was he as impatient as a child in waiting for the fun times ahead to roll on through, the final few weeks (for now) of his modelling work for Burberry had dragged by as the closing shots for a press campaign so often do – with ample time spent just sitting about and waiting while directors deliberated over reshooting sections, or altering the colouring of the photographs. By the time that Friday afternoon came about Jack was highly relieved that he was finished with all the fussing around and endless preening involved with work as a model, and whilst he had been fully grateful for the opportunity and wouldn't rush to turn down further work, he knew now why he had chosen to retire into the more relaxing life of a photographer. He was also relieved that he would now get to spend the entire weekend with his gorgeous Welshman, acting as full on, flirtatious and 'handsy 'as he wished (Well as Ianto would allow any how) in the public eye and generally enjoying touring the city and enjoying their trip to the theatre. Just a few last minute bits to pack – he had attempted to finish all of his packing on Thursday but as per usual there was a distraction, a repeat of the Steven Fry episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks on Dave it had been this time, which had prevented him from doing so – and then they would be away.<p>

In opposition, the two weeks had passed remarkably quickly for the young Welshman who was both eager and uncontrollably excited for their weekend away to England's buzzing capital, but also sick to death with worry and nerves. It wasn't that in theory he was opposed to the idea of spending the weekend with Jack, in fact he was keen to spend as much time as possible with him these days, which was setting butterflies flying in his stomach; more rather that he knew exactly what this weekend would entail, the pair of them finally consummating their relationship, a thought which thrilled and terrified the Welshman in equal parts.

The problem wasn't that Ianto didn't like the American, he liked him a great deal, and if truth be told the problem wasn't even that things were happening too quickly –it simply boiled down to utter confliction between his own lusts and his sheer inexperience. He was fully aware of the fact that he was sure and fast becoming infatuated with the other man which had surprised him to a great deal; regardless of the fact that just three and a bit months ago he never could have picture himself in a relationship with someone of the same gender, it was how quickly he had grown so close to_ anyone _after everything that had happened with Lisa which had caught him pleasantly by surprise. Yes, it had been a fair while now since she had left him, but he'd never really quite got over it all and found himself able to connect emotionally again until Jack (quite literally) swaggered into his life. And now that Ianto was unashamed and happy to admit and rejoice in this new found level of connection with another human being, he found himself – naturally – wanting to connect in other ways, ways in which he _knew _that Jack wanted to too if his wandering hands were anything to go by! But the question was – how on Earth did he go about it? Besides from kissing and perhaps a little basic use of his hands he had no idea how to progress, this was a territory entirely foreign too him and though he knew that Jack was aware of this and was doubtless that he would be kind and reassuringly slow, he felt a little embarrassed of his inexperience – as though he would be about to lose his virginity for a second time which, in a way, he supposed that he was.

It wasn't just technique, or lack of, and execution that Ianto was worried about as far as bedroom activity was concerned either. He was worried about how another man was going to react to him… naked and exposed… especially a man like Jack: Jack the model, Jack who exudes confidence from every pore, Jack with the perfect jawline and perfect teeth and perfect eyes and perfect tanned-but-not-too-tanned skin, and perfectly muscular arms and undoubtedly a perfectly formed set of chest muscles beneath his t-shirts. How could he live up to that? Ianto, with what he deemed an average face, pale skin, sprinklings of dark chest hair corrupting the plane of his lightly toned chest… and then there were other things to worry about… With a woman, he had never felt this sense of utter self-consciousness as it had always been she with the confidence issues, she who had the body hang ups and she who he would truthfully and eloquently praise in order to make them melt away – there was no time or room for him to consider the way he looked. But now… now things were troubling him big time, and on Friday, early afternoon, he arrived at an idea which seemed both helpful and logical (if potentially a little awkward an embarrassing) that he decided would certainly be a way forward with his predicament.

"Tosh? Is that you?" The Welshman called out from behind the closed door of his bedroom as he heard the door to their flat wing open. He was already prepared, stripped down to just a simple, inoffensive pair of blue and white checked underwear, and was stood with his hands firmly on his hips trying to feign confidence and pretend that he wasn't internally shaking with nerves and humiliation for what he was about to do.

"Mmhhmm hang on a sec" She called back, placing three heavy bags of shopping down on the counter before finishing "Yeah – who else would it be?"

The Welshman laughed nervously, "A burglar?"

"A burglar with a key?" Tosh laughed back

"Perhaps not…"

"Ianto, are you alright?" Toshiko asked frowning – her roommate was behaving in a highly peculiar manner she thought to herself.

"Umm yeah, well no actually… could you do me a favour?" He asked biting his lip.

"Ok…" Tosh replied back a little uncertainly.

"Could you just come in here for a minute, I need your help with something; I promise it won't take long"

She sighed to herself and shrugged before making her way over to the Welshman's door, "Alright then"

"Thank you, and I don't mean to alarm you, but I'm not wearing very many clothes…" Ianto said as Tosh flung open the door.

She burst into hysterics at the sight in front of her, at the underwear clad Ianto stood tall, with his hands on his hips and a face upon him that looked as though he was undergoing extreme torture.

"Oh god… if that's your reaction" The Welshman groaned dramatically and flopped down onto his bed.

Tosh, fighting to banish her giggles, sat down next to him and began to speak: "Ianto what on Earth is going on?"

Ianto flipped over to face his friend, "I was _going _to ask you for some advice because this weekend… well… it's… it's a big deal and… oh god, basically I think this weekend will be the first time that Jack and I… you know… and I'm kind of worried about how I… well, how I look… but clearly the sight of me semi-naked is hysterical so I have absolutely nothing to worry about" Ianto replied, sarcastically towards the end.

"Oh Ianto, it wasn't you that I was laughing at! Well it was… but not because of that! Just because I wasn't expecting to walk into such a sight! I mean you have to admit, that face you were pulling! And what was with that stance?" She laughed again.

"I was just trying to… oh never mind" He rolled his eyes before standing up again, "So… how _do _I look? I know you've seen me in my underwear before but could you just properly look for a second?" The Welshman asked, fiercely pretending that he wasn't blushing beetroot red at that second.

Toshiko looked him up and down for a second or two before replying, with a reassuring smile on her face, "You look fine Ianto – just fine – great in fact! Just stop worrying! Jack certainly seems to find you attractive enough, so there is no need to panic – in fact I can't believe that you two haven't… you know… already, considering what he's like!"

Ianto's blush reddened further, "I think he's been pacing things a bit, you know, because this is all new to me and well I basically haven't got a clue…"

"Honestly please, just stop worrying – or you won't enjoy it" Tosh nudged the Welshman suggestively, who had resumed his seat next to her.

He rolled his eyes in response.

"Am I alright to go now? Not that this hasn't been suitably entertaining… it's just I've got a bag of frozen peas and some ice cream slowly defrosting on the counter" Tosh smiled.

"Yeah sure, and thanks" Ianto replied, still not one hundred percent convinced but feeling ever so slightly better.

"Oh, actually, one more thing…" He called as Tosh was half way to the door. "How… how do I give a… oh never mind I'll use Google" Ianto hurried through, his blush returning as Tosh left the room giggling at his words.

The Welshman calmed himself with a quick shower and his second shave of the day, before dressing into his second favourite pair of straight leg jeans – they were the stone wash ones; he'd had a coffee accident involving the black pair – a red polo shirt and a chunky beige cardigan and restyling his newly shower-messed hair ready for Jack's imminent arrival. Jack was meeting him here at three o'clock sharp (he had sworn on his life that he wouldn't be late) in a taxi so that the two of them could travel to the station together to catch the 3.25 train to London. Surprisingly, Jack was bang on time, and the Welshman almost felt slightly rushed as he grabbed his leather hold all containing at least three changes of clothes in order to account for every foreseeable outing, his toiletries and other weekend away essentials, and slung his brown satchel containing his iPod, wallet and a book for the journey over his shoulder.

"Wish me luck!" He said with a parting kiss on the cheek to Tosh as he opened the door to greet Jack.

"Ianto!" Jack greeted him enthusiastically with a kiss, giving Tosh a little secret smile. "It feels like ages since I've seen you! You ready to go?" He asked.

"Absolutely" He smiled back, patting his heavy hold all and swallowing back his nerves.

"You boys have fun!" Tosh said as the two of them waved her goodbye and headed off downstairs to the waiting taxi.

The thought of an almost three hour long train journey had seemed a little daunting to both men, but as they boarded the surprisingly empty and quiet vehicle and curled up closely together in their seats, getting comfy in preparation for the long journey, the pair of them quickly drifted into a light slumber. They only awoke, thankfully, as the train was pulling in to Marylebone station, both of them surprised that they had managed to sleep for such a long time in such a public place, but both of them glad to have had the extra few hours shut eye and pleased that there had been no one (like Tosh or Owen for example) around to take photographic evidence of their nap. Groggily, they collected their overnight bags from the luggage compartment and made their way over to the taxi bay – both men had agreed that it was foolish to attempt to use the tube system with two large hold alls between them.

"Where exactly are we staying then?" Laughed the Welshman as he watched Jack attempt to whistle down a taxi; the American had been keeping their entire plans for the weekend a closely guarded secret.

Jack huffed a brief sigh of annoyance as yet another taxi drove by, before turning to face Ianto with a grin: "Ah well, I suppose it's time enough for me to tell you… but just before I do, I need you to promise not to flip out about costs or anything because I'm paying." Jack said quite firmly.

Ianto rolled his eyes, "I told you Jack, I'm happy to go halves – I might not be a model but I'm not on the verge of bankruptcy"

Jack laughed "I know, I know – it's just, well, it's The Savoy"

"The Savoy?" Ianto asked back incredulously, "Wow I mean, just wow! The Savoy! I can, well I can still pay for half honestly…" The Welshman insisted, hoping that it was a true statement.

"I thought you'd be surprised" Jack smiled. "But I'm serious Ianto, this weekend is my treat – I don't mind, hell I've just finished a job with Burberry, I have money to burn" He laughed.

"If you're sure… I just don't want you to feel as though I'm taking advantage of your generosity" Ianto replied uncertainly.

"Oh gee, well if that's the case then I'd better cancel the room, cancel our reservations for dinner and send back the theatre tickets!" The American replied back in a very Ianto esque sarcastic manner. "Of course I don't think you're taking advantage of me!" He reassured him.

"Well then… good" The Welshman smiled back. "What show are we seeing?"

Jack tapped his nose secretively, "All in good time, all in good time" He winked "Though if you manage to actually flag down a taxi for us then I might consider telling you early!" Jack sighed as yet another cab was claimed by someone who wasn't him.

Ianto grinned "With pleasure" He replied, before letting out an almighty whistle and causing the nearest empty taxi to grind to a halt beside their feet.

"How on Earth did you manage that?" Jack asked incredulously, highly impressed of his boyfriend.

"It's nothing, just a little skill of mine" Ianto grinned back.

"You have lots of these 'little skills' don't you Mr Jones" Jack replied suggestively wiggling his eyebrows as the pair of them, one now very pink in the face, loaded themselves and their luggage into the awaiting taxi.

By the time that they had arrived at the reception to their grand destination, it was nearing seven o'clock meaning that the boys had just half an hour to change and freshen up before their seven thirty dinner reservation at the hotel's restaurant. The Welshman had been a little worried about how the idea of the two men intending to share a room together for the following two nights might be received by the staff, but everyone on the reception desk was polite and charming, and the only comment made regarding their stay was their wishes that it was a pleasant one. They were shown up to their room by a polite young bell boy, whom was tipped by Ianto who had insisted that if Jack would not let him pay for the room then he could at least let him pay for this, and as Jack unlocked and opened their suite door in one swift motion Ianto's breath caught in his throat. Their room was magnificent. The door welcomed them in to a central living area, decorated in a flawlessly classic Edwardian style, with two comfortable looking sofas, an arm chair, a coffee table, a writing desk, beautiful paintings on the walls, an elegant Venetian glass mirror and a gorgeous fireplace. The sitting room had also been fully equipped with all of the essential modern gadgets: a sizable flat screen television with a satellite box and DVD player, an impressive looking stereo and an iPod docking station. The bathroom was just as great a pleasant shock as the living room, there was an enormous bath tub, a separate power shower, large mirrors on the wall, matching soft white dressing gowns and an assortment of Savoy toiletries scattered in neatly arranged stacks. As they progressed throughout their suite, Jack couldn't hide the smile on his face at the surprised and awed look on the young Welshman's face as more and more pleasantries were revealed.

However, when Jack grandly opened the wooden door concealing what would be their bedroom for the next two nights, neither man could deny that Ianto's expression suddenly became tainted with nerves. The door revealed a sizable room with furnishings as gorgeously Edwardian as the living room: two arm chairs, a second writing desk, two beautifully carved bedside tables, two ornate lamps, a large fitted wardrobe… and one very large, very comfortable looking king size bed. He quickly recovered himself though, making a quick comment about how lovely the rooms was and motioned his way over towards the fitted wardrobe where he began unpacking his 'likely to crease' items of clothing as Jack in turn went to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Ianto… you do want to be here don't you?" He asked a little nervously.

Ianto stopped unpacking for a second to turn to Jack, firmly shaking all traces of nerves away and determinedly focusing on the part of him that was immensely excited to be here: "Of course!" He smiled widely

Jack breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on the bed, "Good"

"Just promise me that you will never tell me how much all of this cost… I don't think I could live with the guilt!"

"I promise, though there's no need to feel guilty – you're worth it"

Ianto blushed a little, but smiled regardless, "Thank you that means a lot…Though… you could have warned me that we were coming to such a grand hotel – I only packed one suit!" Ianto exclaimed jokily.

Jack chuckled lightly, "You're welcome, and I'm sure it's a very _suit_able one!"

"Oh that was poor" Ianto laughed, "Come on then" He said pulling Jack up from his position on the bed by his hand, "We need to get changed"

"Oh Ianto Jones, forever trying to get me out of my clothes… it's despicable" Jack laughed before grabbing his own overnight bag and heading into the living room to change – a gesture which had surprised the Welshman a little, though he presumed that Jack was simply still erring the side of caution and giving him a little space before the evening.

He emerged again, dressed in a classic black suit accompanied with a pale blue shirt with a slight herring bone pattern running through it and a silvery tie, at twenty five past seven - just in time for their reservation – and the two men set off hand in hand for what they were both anticipating would be an enjoyable evening.

Both men were immediately loosening their ties as they re-entered their hotel suite at about half past ten that evening after enjoying a fine meal accompanied by fine wine and pleasant conversation in the restaurant downstairs. Whilst they had been enjoying their dessert Jack had asked one of the waiters if it wouldn't be too much hassle for them to request for a bottle of the delicious Bordeaux that they had been drinking to be sent up to their hotel room, to which the waiter replied with an 'of course Sir' and left to have it arranged for the pair of them, and so after discarding his tie and his jacket now, Ianto started looking for glasses for the bottle of wine which was indeed waiting on their coffee table. As he was doing so, Jack couldn't help but indulge himself with a sneaky stare at his counterpart; there he was: dark hair ever so slightly ruffled now (and if he wasn't mistaken, it was curling lightly at the edges), slim body concealed by a well-fitting dark grey pair of suit trousers, a light pink shirt and a grey waistcoat… staring at him then, he wondered at how Ianto could ever feel as though he wasn't attractive. The Welshman had never confessed as much to he himself, but he'd spoken to Tosh about him before and it seemed Ianto's opinion of himself always boiled back down to one word – 'average' – a word which couldn't be more absurdly inaccurate in Jack's opinion. Jack smiled as he saw him darting about, checking the various draws and cupboards in the room, admiring his movements… he'd become so very attached to the other man, and if he wasn't mistaken, Jack was almost certain that he was falling for him – completely and utterly.

The American didn't quite manage to hide his stolen stare at the Welshman before Ianto turned around triumphantly with two glasses in his hands.

"What?" Ianto asked nervously, worried that he had done something wrong or funny or embarrassing without realising, or that maybe he had something on his back.

Jack smiled back at him; "Absolutely nothing – just admiring the view" He said sitting himself down on one of the settees and relaxing back into the curve of the seat.

Ianto rolled his eyes and made his way over to Jack, with both the glasses and a cork screw which he had located next to the glasses, and sat himself down next to Jack on the extremely comfortable sofa. "Perhaps you shouldn't have anymore", he gesture towards the wine, "It appears that you've already got your beer goggles on" Ianto joked.

It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes then, "Oh Ianto if you're complement fishing then you're doing a very good job of it… you know I think you're gorgeous so shut up and get this bottle opened" He replied. "Please." He added laughing.

"As you wish" Ianto replied, quickly side stepping Jack's praises and going to open the bottle.

"So" Ianto began after the two of them had obtained a glass of the red liquid each, "Are you sad that everything's over with Burberry?"

"Hmm sort of, I will miss everyone that I worked with – especially Karen, boy she was a laugh and a half – and it's been such an honour to work with them and they did suggest that they might like to use me again for their winter campaign… but honestly? I'm kind of glad it's all over"

"Really?" Ianto asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, I mean it's been fun and the money's fantastic, but I know now that I made the right choice in choosing to leave full time modelling and enter photography instead. It's so much work! All those early starts and late finishes and diets and make-up and endless standing around – leave it to the young ones, that's what I say" Jack laughed.

Ianto smiled back about to make ask if he would take them up on an offer to work with them in the winter again if they made him one, when another question came into his mind sparked up by his reference to 'the young ones'. "Jack… just out of interest, how old _are_ you?" Despite the pair of them having been together (sort of) for three months or so now, birthdays and ages had just never been a topic that had come up as yet, and though Ianto had to admit that he had often wondered about the age of the other man, he also had to admit that the answer really wasn't important to him.

Jack thought for just a second before answering, he'd been wondering when this particular subject would crop up, and he'd known that it would do sooner or later, and he'd been pretty much dreading its arrival as he was a little worried that revealing his age might indeed put the younger man off. He deliberated over making a little joke to squeeze his way out of answering, but instead he decided to just come straight out with it: "Thirty nine and your good self?" He smiled, internally hoping that his answer would be well received.

"Thirty nine? Really? I mean, I knew that you looked young for your age… but I would have guessed 37 – 35 even going by appearances!" Ianto replied.

"Well what can I say, it's all down to moisturiser baby" He flashed a large grin… "It doesn't bother you though, does it?" He asked nervously.

"Of course it doesn't" Ianto smiled "Don't you think I would have said something by now if it did?" He laughed.

"Maybe…" Jack agreed. "You didn't tell me how old you were" He pointed out.

"Oh yes of course! I'm 26… but I know for certain that I look younger than that…they till check my ID occasionally which is high embarrassing"

"Aww I think that's cute" Jack smiled. "You're like a baby!" He teased, much to the other man's disapproval. "So when's your birthday then?" He asked, trying a less 'death stare' incurring line of conversation.

"The 19th of August, what about yours?"

"Well it was the first of January, but I've decided that I'm no longer having any birthdays, this year was my last, can't be dealing with any of this forty nonsense!" He joked.

"Yeah I don't want to have to tell people I'm dating an old man…" Ianto replied grinning.

"Hey!" jack replied mock angrily, and made to elbow the other man in the ribs lightly, but Ianto moved slightly just as Jack's elbow was coming in closer meaning that he had been attacked a lot harder than Jack had intended. "Oh bollocks! Ianto I'm sorry – are you alright?" Jack asked quickly.

"I'm fine" Ianto lied, laughing a little… it would probably leave a bruise, but he knew that Jack hadn't meant it and didn't want to upset his feelings.

"Are you sure? Do you need me to kiss it better?" Jack asked.

"Hmm well… maybe…" Ianto smiled.

"As you wish" Jack laughed and planted a large kiss on Ianto's ribs through his shirt and waistcoat.

The older man then leaned upwards again and moved in closer to the Welshman to connect their lips and engage in a much more passionate and lust fuelled kiss than had just been previously had. Ianto was eager to respond, and the possibly bruising ribs were quickly forgotten as Jack's tongue located his.

After an immeasurable amount of time, the two of them broke away from each other, both breathless and panting, and a little flushed.

"Well we've got fine wine, each other's company and excellent past time to engage in… all this really needs now is some music" Jack whispered seductively into the Welshman's ear.

"I'll turn the radio on if you like?" Ianto replied back smiling.

Ianto got up from their very comfortable position on the sofa to switch the impressive stereo and try to find a radio station. The pair of them giggled as it immediately went straight to some obscure 'World music' station as the Welshman attempted to tune the gadget.

"My iPod's in my bag? How about I go and get it?" Ianto suggested.

"Alright, but hurry back!" he called as Ianto left, hurrying into the bedroom.

In the end, there was absolutely no need for the Welshman to hurry back as whilst he was rummaging around in his satchel for the desired device, Jack walked up behind him and pulled him into a large hug from behind which had startled him briefly. As Ianto relaxed into the hug, convinced by Jack's unmistakably citrus-y and fresh, intoxicating smell that it wasn't in fact a stranger holding him, Jack turned him around gently to face him and once again captured his lips. This time, the two men shared kisses filled with passion and heat and sheer lust, and before either of them had fully realised it was happening they were both fighting to remove each other's clothing. As Ianto felt the American begin to unbutton his waistcoat and then his shirt, he realised that right now, now when everything was actually happening, his worries about the way he looked had vanished along with his worries about his inexperience – all he wanted right now was Jack, and all Jack wanted was him. His own hands instinctively reacted back and began unbuttoning Jack's shirt, eager to press skin against skin.

When the two men were left standing in just boxers, all their other clothing scattered hap hazzardly across the room, Ianto broke of their furious bout of kissing.

"Jack I, I really, _really, _want to do this but before we do I just want you to know that…"

He was cut off by Jack's lips which were quickly pressed against his own. "Me too, but not tonight" He smiled into Ianto's mouth.

Ianto pulled a slightly puzzled face which the other man couldn't help but laugh a little at.

"Not tonight, this is our first, _your _first time… effectively… and I want this to be really special for you… so not tonight" Jack clarified.

"Jack how much more special can you get than in the Savoy and with _you?_"

"Ah well, you haven't heard about what I have planned for us tomorrow…" He winked.

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><p><strong>AN:** _So... a couple of people PM'd after the last me asking if I was planning to write any M rated bits on their weekend away... which I'm not... I don't think - unless people really want it? What do you all think? Hannah xxx_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** _Good evening all! So this chapter is out a little later than I had initially told some of you that it would be... but that is only because I have been taking my time in order to write what I hope is a convincing little love scene between Jack and Ianto (yes I am talking about the M rated stuff ladies and gentlemen - question, are there many guys reading this just out of interest?) Anyway, I had to do a bit of research, aka sit down and read lots of M rated fics, before I wrote it and am still not sure if its one hundred percent right but I hope you all like it!** I am putting the 'M' ending to their weekend in London in a seperate ch 14 so that anyone who wishes not to read it can do so**_ **_and not miss out on any of the main story plot, so if you don't wish to read about the two fo them getting it on then PLEASE don't read ch 14! _**_I think that about covers it... Hannah xxx_

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><p>It was nearly half past ten by the time that the two men were awake on Saturday morning, a much more leisurely hour than Ianto himself was used to and possibly a little on the early side for a weekend morning for Jack. Out of the pair, unsurprisingly, the Welshman had woken up fractionally earlier than the American lying next to him, which provided him with the ideal opportunity to just lay and stare at the semi naked, perfect form whose limbs were currently entangled with his own. This was the first time that he had woken up next to Jack, the first time that the pair of them had shared a bed (if not actually <em>slept<em> together) and it was nice. The sensation of waking to the soothing body heat of a lover, the awareness that you're not alone, the joys of guiltlessly watching them stirring awake… all things the Welshman enjoyed and hadn't fully experienced since Lisa had left - waking up to the odd one night stand or temporary girlfriend just doesn't have the same comforting effect. He had wondered if, initially at least, it may feel strange to rise and greet another male, to feel arms longer and more muscular than those of a young woman or to smell the scent of men's aftershave rather than the florals of perfume, embrace him but it felt just as wonderful. Perhaps better even. And, lying there watching the sleepy American's eyes twitch and his body stir, he smiled a little too himself at how he ever even considered the view that a situation like this, with Jack, would ever feel anything but 'right', after all, their first kiss had felt inherently right…

"What a beautiful sight to greet the day too" Jack interrupted his thoughts with a slightly sleep thickened greeting as he rubbed his eyes open.

Ianto smiled, unembarrassed for once by Jack's words of complementation, "I've certainly got a pretty good view…"

Jack grinned back after having adjusted to the light that was threatening to break fully through the curtains enclosing the large ornate window, capturing the view of the river. "Did you sleep well? I sure did! I think I'm really going to struggle when I go back to my normal bed at home on Sunday night."

"I did thank you" Ianto grinned wider back, "I know what you mean! I don't know how I'm going to get used to my mattress after sleeping on this one which must be made of angels wings it's that soft!" Ianto laughed.

Jack joined in his laughter, "You're right there! Well actually I was more referring to the company… it'll be lonely on Monday…"

"Oh" Ianto blushed slightly, "Sorry! I… umm… well me too, it was nice being here with you"

"Good, I'm glad you think so" Jack smiled and leaned in for a stolen, early morning kiss and a cuddle with the Welshman of his affections lying opposite.

The matching plush, white dressing gowns from the luxurious bathroom were quickly thrown on over their underwear and after a leisurely, unhurried breakfast of croissants and jam, and cornflakes and strong black coffee provided by the delightful butler esque figure responsible for room service on their floor, the men set about getting themselves ready for the day. Ianto initially had decided to have a quick shower before putting on his clothing for the day, but upon entering the stunning bathroom had changed his mind and decided to opt for a soothing soak in the enormous bath tub; Jack had been indifferent to Ianto's quest for cleanliness through showering, however, as soon as the American had heard the mentioning's of a bath he chirped up and insisted that there wasn't time. The Welshman, though a little confused – especially after having heard Jack announce at breakfast that though he had a few things planned for the day, they could go about them as leisurely as they pleased – by Jack's behaviour, opted to go back to his original plan of the shower instead, resolving to test out the tub later which brought about a small, contented sigh of relief from Jack which only confused him further.

Post showering and shaving, both men dressed into clean, casual clothing fit for the sunny (if a little chilly in the shade) spring day that it appeared to be shaping up to be with Jack dressed in a form fitting black polo shirt, mid-wash boot cut jeans and a grey zip up hoody which, as Ianto had predicted, he ended up taking off the second they were stood outside in the sun. Ianto himself had opted for a long sleeved, tightly fitted simple navy top and straight leg jeans in a dark grey tone, choosing not to bother taking a jacket with him. Both had bags tightly packed with maps, money, oyster cards and sunglasses, and after a quick last minute check of his hair in the mirror, Jack and Ianto were ready to set off.

"So, what's the plan for today then?" Ianto, who had been kept pretty much in the dark about the day of fun Jack had planned for the two of them, asked whilst they walked along comfortably holding hands out of the sight of those who knew either of them, along the edge of Hyde Park.

"Firstly, I thought that we could spend what's left of the morning getting completely and utterly lost in Harrods and then go to one of the tea rooms or the restaurant for a late lunch – I don't know about you, but I'm still pretty full from breakfast – and then I thought that we could take a walk through the park and hit Oxford street for a couple of hours, and if there's time go on a bit of a walking tour of some of the major sights" Jack suggested eagerly.

"Sounds perfect, I've never been to Harrods!" Ianto replied with equal enthusiasm.

"You've never been to Harrods! Well then my dear Ianto you are in for a treat!" Jack announced as they arrived at the grand entrance to the department store.

The pair trailed around the many, expansive and enticing halls filled with accessories and suiting and casual clothing, and stationary and electronic gadgets and gifts, and confectionary and fresh produce, in relative awe of the grandeur of the entire establishment. Even Jack, who had been to Harrods upon many a visit to London, was filled with wonder at the sight of the grand Egyptian escalator and the large selection of finery. Before lunchtime was in session both parties had made happy purchases – Ianto a brand new three piece suit in a deep navy tone, and Jack a new leather 'man bag' – and were somewhat reluctant to leave the glamour of shopping in Harrods behind in favour of pressing on with the rest of their schedule.

After a pleasant lunch together, the American and the Welshman set about their leisurely walk through Hyde Park; having decided to forgo the Oxford street spree as a) compared to the wonder of Harrods they were sure that it would be a paler comparison, and b) as the two men were far more interested in viewing some of the famous sights of the city, the two men now planned to spend a little longer enjoying the blissful early afternoon sun in the pastoral environment of the park. Fifteen or twenty minutes into their walk, the pair stumbled across a pleasant, scenic looking spot near the 'Long Water' in which to sit and pass an hour or so.

"Are you sure you don't want to take your suit back to the hotel room? It would only be a quick hop on the tube, and I don't like to think of you hauling it around as I drag you across London and back" Jack asked.

Ianto rolled his eyes slightly but smiled, "Honestly Jack I'm fine – you don't need to keep asking! I don't want to waste a precious half an hour of our day out together"

"Ok, ok… but don't blame me if your arm falls off through over exertion!" The American laughed, playfully punching the aforementioned arms,

"Don't worry I won't – though I'm pretty sure my arm will last for the duration" Ianto said laughing back, delicately, and subconsciously, taking a hold of Jack's punching hand and running his fingers across his.

"Good, we wouldn't want to ruin today with a case of spontaneous arm amputation" Jack laughed further.

"Have I ever told you that you're a bit ridiculous?" Ianto asked.

"No! And why would you! I'm perfect" Jack winked.

"I'm not disputing that…" Ianto chuckled.

Jack took in a breath, ready to make his reply, when the peacefully sat pair were interrupted by an unexpected visitor.

"Excuse me, I'm so sorry to bother you, but, well – you're Jack Harkness aren't you?" An average height, adorably excited brunette girl of about sixteen or seventeen enthusiastically proclaimed with a slight stammer upon recognising the older man.

For a split second, Jack made an almost unnoticeable face to Ianto which seemed to say 'sorry about this' crossed with an angry eye roll of 'for goodness sake', before resuming his normally polite and friendly persona. "I sure am" he replied to the girl who let out an excited squeal of delight.

"Would I… would I be able to get your autograph?" She asked nervously whilst rummaging around in her bag for a pen and any available scrap of paper.

"Of course, who should I make it out to?" Jack asked.

"Umm, Sophie please – thank you so much!" She said as she handed over an old train ticket and a sharpie marker to Jack.

'_To Sophie, all my love from one gorgeous brunette to another, Jack Harkness xxx' _He wrote in his neatest handwriting and scribbled his elaborate signature with a flourish beneath.

Sophie squealed even more when she read it, which put a smile on Jack's face – and on Ianto's who had been marvelling at the whole, slightly surreal, exchange for the past minute or so. "Thank you, thank you, so much! I wouldn't be able to trouble you for a picture as well please would I?"

"Of course" Jack replied smiling.

"Do you want me to take it?" Ianto offered, still feeling a little in awe of the situation.

"That would be great, thank you!"

Ianto took the photo as Jack wrapped and arm around the girl and plastered on his classic 100 megawatt Harkness grin, while Sophie did her utmost best not to die of star struck as she posed for the picture.

"Is that ok?" Ianto asked, handing her camera back and showing her the picture of her and Jack on the screen.

"That's perfect, thank you so much! My friends are going to be so jealous when I tell them about this on Monday!"

"You're welcome!" Jack laughed, motioning to sit back down next to the Welshman, leaning in closely against his shoulder.

"Thanks again and… umm… could I get a picture of you two together? I mean, I take it you are like _together _right?" She asked, blushing a little, hoping for a killer of a shot to unleash upon the internet when she arrived home.

Jack looked to Ianto, whose heart was suddenly beating at the rate of one thousand pulsations a minute, and whose eyes flashed with a panic stricken expression for just a second before nodding and smiling towards him.

"Yes, of course" Jack smiled back at Ianto and turned to the girl to reply.

Sophie happily took a photo of the pair sat their smiling in the sunlight on the park's green grass, Ianto's hand and arm leaning out behind Jack's back to rest on the grass behind him, and Jack's arm linking under his to take up a mirroring position behind Ianto's back. When looking at the finished photograph, it was obvious to even the blindest of persons that the two men in the photograph were in love, or at the very least 'together' as Sophie had put it, despite the minimal contact and casual pose, their affection for each other was mapped out across their eyes. If, and it was a very big if, you really wanted to be convinced that they were simply two close friends enjoying the afternoon springtime sun, then it was possible to overlook the beaming genuine smiles, the radiant happiness across both men's faces, and the way that they angled their bodies and eye line slight towards each other – but one would have to be trying incredibly hard to do so.

"Aww that's perfect!" Sophie grinned as she looked at the photo, "And thanks again so much!" she finished before turning to leave.

"You're welcome" Both men called back simultaneously.

After she was well out of ear shot, the American turned in closer to the Welshman to speak:

"You didn't have to do that you know" Jack smiled, adjusting his hand to lace it with Ianto's.

"I know" Ianto smiled back. There had been a moment, a very brief moment, in which he was doubtful of how to respond to the girl's request. If he said no, he was worried that Jack would – although he probably wouldn't admit it – feel hurt by his actions, and disappointed that, after three and a bit months together, he wasn't ready for photographs. And then, if he said yes, he momentarily considered angling his body away from Jack, moving his hand from behind the American's back and acting as though they were merely friends – but perhaps Jack would be even more wounded by this than by an outright refusal of a photo. So, with these factors in mind, Ianto had just decided to go for it; for once in his life he had just thought 'to hell with it' it would please both Jack and the young girl, and would ultimately not cause him any harm.

"You know… it'll probably be up and being gossiped about on the internet before we are even back to the hotel room…" Jack warned him nervously, knowing that he had still yet to tell a couple of important people about his new relationship.

"I had suspected as much" Ianto chuckled, "But it's alright, I need to tell Rhi soon really – it's already been too long since I last saw her, and so when we inevitably meet up in the next few weeks she's bound to ask about relationships, and I'm certain that the mention of it will put such a silly smile on my face that I'll have to confess. So if she finds it somehow before then, I'll just tell the truth." Ianto replied calmly.

"Oh you are too cute" Jack smiled back, "But what about your mother?"

"Mam doesn't even have a computer! There's no chance that she'll find it before I get a chance to tell her… which I think I'm going to do soon… after I've told Rhi anyway and built up a bit of courage"

"Do you think they'll be alright about it? Their little Ianto with his new _boy_friend?"

"I might be younger than you but I'm not little, I'm almost taller than you." Ianto replied sarcastically, evading the question just slightly.

"Hmm… I bet you're not little at all Mr Jones" Jack replied seductively with a sly glance downwards to the crotch of the man opposite him before returning his gaze to a now slightly flushed Welshman. "_But _you didn't answer my question… do you think they'll be ok? Because I can always come with if you think it'll help?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine Jack" Ianto sighed a little but smiled, "Rhiannon I know won't care, she's always just been happy when I'm happy – she absolutely hated Lisa, but was polite and kind to her face because, before she broke my heart anyway, being with her made me happy. I'm sure that you'll be accepted much more readily, especially when I tell her that you're a model…" Ianto laughed and the American joined in.

"She sounds like a damn good older sister to me" He smiled, "What about your Mam?"

"I'd like to think that she'd be as equally fine with it all… but I expect it will come as a bit of a surprise at first, and perhaps a lack of understanding will initially settle in, though I'm sure she'd come to terms with it, and accept that it makes me happy once she's calmed down"

"I'm sure she will too" Jack reassure him, moving his hand from Ianto's to rub soothing circles into his back. "But if she isn't, I'll be here"

"Thank you" Ianto replied smiling as he leaned in to kiss Jack, passionately and openly in the middle of the park, without a care in the world for who saw them.

Jack and Ianto sat, and eventually lay, basking in the heat and glow of the pleasant afternoon for a further half hour or so before continuing on with their walk and later hopping onto the tube in order to move on with the next stage of their plans for the day – sightseeing around the city. Together they visited the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London and Trafalgar square all in a mad rush of a whistle stop tour, only pausing to take a selection of photos both of the sights themselves, and of the pair of them captured by passing helpful strangers: both men wanted to remember their first weekend away together, and though firm memories would be formed in their own minds, photos are nice in order to be able to share these memories openly with the world. Post their lightening quick tour, the two men headed back to their hotel room to change into more suitable attire (Ianto into his brand new suit which Jack confirmed looked just as wonderful on him as it had done in the dressing room of Harrods) for dinner at the Savoy's sophisticated restaurant for the second pleasant evening in a row, and ultimately made their way through the early evening at a moderately quick pace in order to be ready in time for their trip to the theatre.

Jack, who had for once in his life managed to keep a secret to himself for an entire day, finally revealed to the Welshman as to which show they would be seeing just as they were leaving the restaurant.

"Now… I know that this is incredibly cliché… two men going out to a musical and all, but my friend Mickey was able to get us two tickets in the stalls, quite near the front I believe, to see the Sound of Music" Jack grinned as he announced the news to Ianto.

"I suppose it is a bit cliché isn't it, I hadn't thought of it like that before" Ianto laughed, "But I don't care if it's cliché, I love the Sound of Music and I thought I was straight for 26 years of my life!"

"Oh excellent, I'm glad you like it" Jack grinned, "And it could be worse, like in that episode of the IT Crowd? You know, the one with 'Gay: a Gay Musical'?" Jack laughed back.

"I'd forgotten about that one! Just to warn you know, I always get a little teary eyed near the end when their all singing Edelweiss together – Rhi always used to make fun of me when we were kids because of it."

"And you're sure you thought you were straight for that long?" Jack asked with mockingly incredulous tone, earning him an elbow dig in the arm from the offended Welshman. "I'm just teasing! Don't worry, I always cry at that TV advert… you know the one with the dog?"

Ianto's brow screwed into a frown before his whole face elapsed into a smile, "Really? It's not even sad!"

"I know, I know, it just makes me so emotional!" He laughed whole heartedly as Ianto rolled his eyes. "Oh, by the way, just before we set off I quickly need to swing by reception if that's alright?"

"Of course it is"

The two men headed over to reception where Ianto, under Jack's command which had left him feeling just a little suspicious, had waited near the door as Jack had in turn approached one of the receptionists at the desk. From what he could make out, the American seemed to be flirting away with the young woman at the desk who was happily laughing and smiling and batting her eyelids up towards the attractive man, but it wasn't this however that perturbed the young Welshman, more rather the issue was that the two of them kept occasionally glancing over to where he was stood, setting him right on edge and sending suspicions flaring throughout his mind.

"What was that about?" Ianto asked casually, a couple of minutes after they were outside the hotel in an effort to appear nonchalant.

"Spoilers" Jack said quite simply and winked before dragging Ianto off the theatre next to the hotel.

As they were ushered into their seats, and even once they had their programmes in hand and were avidly leafing through the pages of the booklet in eager anticipation for the commencement of the show, Ianto couldn't shake the nagging inquisitive need to find out what Jack was plotting, and twice he tried to ask him again but was given equally mysterious replies as his first. Once the curtains opened upon the setting of the green Austrian mountains, and Maria with the voice of a nightingale began to proclaim how alive the world was with music, all was quickly forgotten and both men relaxed into enjoying the fabulous show.

Once the show was at its end, Jack was keen for them to make their way back to their grand suite as quickly as possible, and Ianto was disinclined to refuse his requests as he was in turn anxious to find out what on Earth it was that Jack had been organising behind his back.

"It was absolutely sensational wasn't it?" Ianto grinned as Jack fumbled with the key card to their room.

"Completely and utterly, the singing was flawless, the seats we had were fantastic, the men were handsome and the women were beautiful" Jack grinned back, still attempting to operate their room key.

"Oh they were now were they?" Ianto asked teasingly back.

Jack cursed under his breath as he made his third attempt to swipe the card. "Yes, they were and don't pretend you didn't notice – I saw you checking out Liesel! It's a good job the actress who played her wasn't just '16 going on 17'. Besides, we're both hotter so it's ok" Jack laughed.

"I wasn't 'checking her out'! I was just… intently listening to the song!"

"Oh sure" Jack replied and rolled his eyes, "Damn it!" He cried out when the card failed him yet again.

"Would you like me to give it a go?" Ianto offered.

"If you'd be so kind – but don't open the door! Just unlock it!"

"…ok…" Ianto replied sceptically, as he removed the card from Jack's hand and unlocked the door in one seamless motion.

"Aha! Thank you… now, close your eyes" Jack grinned.

"What?" The Welshman asked, confused.

"Close your eyes… or I could always tie my tie around you like a blindfold… and then I'll lead you inside!" Jack expanded on his original statement.

"Alright… I think I can be trusted just to close them" Ianto replied hesitantly, shutting his eyes tightly and allowing the American to lead him by the hands all the way through their living room and into, if his sense of direction wasn't mistaken, their bedroom.

"Ok, open up" Jack announced with a grin in his voice, letting go of Ianto's hands.

Yes, they certainly were in the bedroom. The bedroom which had now been filled with several dozen vanilla scented candles, all lighting up the room with an intimate glow in the absence of an electrical light, and there was a bucket of champagne on ice sitting on the writing desk.

"Wow" was all the Welshman could manage to get out.

Jack laughed triumphantly, "It is pretty 'wow' isn't it? I was thinking about asking them to scatter rose petals across the bed, but I think that would have been a bit much don't you?"

"Wow" Was all he could repeat again.

Jack just leaned in closer to delicately kiss his stunned lips, "I asked if someone from room service would be able to embellish the bathroom similarly so that we can take a nice romantic dip layer if you like?"

"So this was what you were talking to the receptionist about before we left… and, is that why I wasn't allowed a bath this morning?" Ianto asked, finally able to string a full sentence together though he was still just slightly stunned by it all.

"It was and it was – couldn't have you sampling that giant tub without me! And, well, I told you that I wanted to make things more special for you and so I endeavoured to keep that promise… have I succeeded?" He almost purred the question into Ianto's ear.

"I think so…" Ianto replied back in an almost matching tone.

"Good" Jack grinned, leaning in even closer still now, taking the Welshman fully in his arms – who in turn wrapped his own arms around Jack's muscular back – and merging the boundaries that were their two sets of hungry lips to envelop him in a passion fuelled kiss.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** _Here we go then, the bit you've all been waiting for... I hope it's the sort of thing that you were after and that what I've written isn't a complete embarrassment. Just to warn you, in case you hadn't guessed by me signing off each A/N with the name Hannah, I am female and so obviously have no first hand experience of real life sex between two men - anything in here is based upon things I have read in other fics, so if it is completely inaccurate and bad feel free to correct me! Just a final **WARNING: this chapter contains M RATED MATERIAL that is not safe for work. **Do enjoy, Hannah xxx _

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><p>Together they began moving, surprisingly gracefully, backwards and nearer to the bed as the two tongues mapped out opposite mouths, exploring every previously discovered curve inside and battling against each other for dominance in this sensual competition of, not strength, but the expression of lust and emotion. Jack's hand's slid further and further down the smooth back of the still jacket wearing Ianto, right the way down to cup the curve of his behind as Ianto's own hands mirrored the actions of his partner's.<p>

The awe of the romantic gesture, of the candle and champagne now well and truly forgotten, at least for the time being, as Ianto began to slowly remove Jack's tie with ever so slightly shaking hands. Jack flashed a wicked grin as the article was removed, and he leaned away marginally to shrug off his jacket before returning to the sensuous kiss, and in turn shedding the restricting jacket and tie of the Welshman opposite him. They started work on the shirt buttons next, each man moving painfully slowly in their efforts to maintain the contact of their lips throughout the process, and to savour the moment which was being taken at a much steadier pace than the previous day's clothes removal.

When both men had finally made it down to their boxers, which scarcely concealed the growing erections within, Jack withdrew himself a little to stare openly with admiration at the now blushing Ianto. Though on the previous evening the two men had stood there clothes less and panting as they did now, the hurried pace had meant that neither one had really had the proper opportunity to take in the sight of their nearly naked counter part's form. Ianto's predictions were confirmed as Jack slipped out of his tight fitting undershirt to reveal a prominent layer of tanned muscle across his broad chest, and suddenly, conflicting his admiration for the gorgeous body of his lover before him and his own embarrassment, Ianto's expression faltered. Jack however upon sensing the reason behind Ianto's sudden hesitation, and upon intensely focusing in on the smooth porcelain skin of the Welshman next to him, his lightly toned chest scattered with contrastingly dark hairs and revelling in the exposed beauty of the other man, decided not to question what the precise issue was.

Instead, he simply moved back in closer towards the object of his affection to run an appreciative hand down the back of Ianto's bare spine, and to then kneel down on the floor and begin running an affectionate trail of kisses all the way up his body, pausing to gently envelop a nipple fully within his lips, evoking a small sigh of contentment from the Welshman who was now very much reassure that Jack found him as attractive as he found Jack.

With a devilish glint in his eyes, Jack gently pushed the younger man backwards and down onto the bed, sliding himself delicately over the top of him to connect their now almost full naked bodies at every point, reclaiming his lips once again before allowing Ianto, sensing Jack's own eager hardness beneath his, the opportunity to roll him over and take control for a moment. The Welshman, as inexperienced as he was, deepened their already lust fuelled and passion ridden kiss, before his nervous hands slid around the waist band of Jack's underwear, slowly easing them down in an almost taunting fashion as he loosed the other man's ready erection from its restrictions. Jack, smiling into a fresh kiss at Ianto's movements and turned the pair of them over on the large bed again, resuming his position on top in order to slip down Ianto's own underwear in turn.

The American, knowing how little experience Ianto had, began to make the first sexually engaging move as he slowly planted a second trail of kisses, leading down the Welshman's body this time instead of up, and making his way towards the focus of his attention. He captured Ianto's hard and waiting penis in his own keen mouth in a motion which caused a dramatic intake of breath from the Welshman. As he slid his full lips, initially teasingly slowly, along the full length of his erection, Jack was satisfied with Ianto's quickened rate of inhaling and the delicious sounds of pleasure escaping subconsciously from his mouth. He pulled back before Ianto was ready to reach that blissful moment of climax, unwilling to let it be brought about by the action of his lips alone and moved back up again to grin at the Welshman who was still panting slightly beneath him.

Suddenly Ianto, in a very uncharacteristically forward manner, and with a lustful gleam in his eyes – the like of which previously unseen by Jack – as he in turn, eager both to learn and to repay Jack for leaving him breathless as he had done so, took hold of Jack's own fully erected penis in his two strong, yet gentle, hands stealing away one of the American's own breaths. He smiled as he drew the American's lips back into a kiss whilst simultaneously moving his hands steadily back and forth, driving Jack to the point of releasing a pleasurable moan into the Welshman's open mouth, and almost – but not quite – to the point of maximum enjoyment, but he held back as Jack had done for him.

Slowly, with a slightly lightened and fuzzy head due to the sudden blood loss to the south, Jack rolled to the side and leaned up from his comfortable position sprawled beneath Ianto to make his way over to his bag in which the essentials had been stored. He returned to the bed only seconds later, armed now with condoms and lubrication, and leaned in closely to the Welshman to press an affectionate peck against his cheek.

"Are you sure..?" He whispered delicately into his ear.

Ianto simply smiled, slightly nervously, and nodded.

"It might be painful… I don't want to hurt you" He whispered back just as quietly, "Hurt you again" He added with a slight chuckled after brushing against the light bruising that had formed on Ianto's ribs in their little collision yesterday.

Ianto chuckled back and swallowed away most of his nerves, "I know it will be… but I want to…" He reassured Jack.

Jack smiled, "I'll try and be gentle" He whispered for a third time as he planted one last light kiss against the Welshman's soft lips.

The American unscrewed the lid to the bottle and allowed a generous amount of the substance to coat two of his fingers; slowly and carefully he then slid them into the Welshman. Ianto, feeling just a very slight burning sensation, revealed nothing in his expression and urged Jack to insert yet a third inside him, knowing – through the helpful guidance of Google - that preparation was vitally necessary. When they were ready, Jack withdrew his fingers from Ianto, who was then relieved of the mild sensation of pain which had gradually been reducing as Jack tried out a few experimental flexings of the fingers inside of him.

The Welshman carefully opened the packet to the condom and rolled the article gently down Jack's still prominent erection with remarkably steady hands. Jack, after gaining a final confirmation from Ianto's eagerly glittering eyes, positioned the pair of them with Ianto lying on his back in the middle of the bed, legs wrapped around the American who was leaning over him, and delicately made his first move to enter the Welshman fully. Ianto bit down on his tongue in order to avoid cursing at the initial pain, but found that as Jack and he fell into a symbiotic, comfortable rhythm of movements the intensely burning sting began to fade away gradually and he was able to fully give himself over to, and enjoy the moment.

Their pace, which had begun steadily and slowly increased to a rapid beat of movements and hurried breathing as each man grew closer to their final climactic point. Jack was the first to come, sighing deeply and moaning Ianto's name lightly as he came within the body of the younger man, excited to have finally engaged in the act he had been craving since the first evening they had met at his fancy dress party. With a few expertly crafted strokes of Ianto's erection, the Welshman in turn shortly reached his own orgasm, murmuring Jack's name into the American's mouth as it was capture once again by his at his precise moment of climax.

Jack withdrew from Ianto's body and discarded the now filled condom before lying back down on the bed next to the younger man, both of them with ragged breath, attempting to recover from the exertion.

"That was…" Ianto eventually managed to begin speaking as his breath settled back down again, "Well that was… incredible" He smiled up towards the ceiling, though the upturning of the corners of his mouth did not go unnoticed by the American.

"It was, wasn't it" Jack grinned back turning to lean on one side to face Ianto, and Ianto in turn copied his movement.

"It was perfect"

"Well I wanted it to be for you" Jack replied, stroking an idle hand down across the Welshman's bare chest. "You're not… in pain… or anything?" He asked nervously.

Ianto neglected to mention the very slight lingering pain stemming from his behind, he knew it would only make Jack feel guilty, so instead he simply said: "No of course not! You know… it kind of felt different to how I thought it would" He mused out loud.

"Good different?"

"Oh very good different" Ianto smiled, which Jack returned. "And how was it for you…?" Ianto asked, keen to find out if Jack had enjoyed it as much as he had and as much as he had sounded like he had.

Jack rolled his eyes, "Do you really need to ask that?"

"Perhaps not…" Ianto chuckled.

"Definitely not! You have no idea how long I've been thinking about doing that"

"I could take a guess… if it's anywhere near as long as I have then it's been for a pretty long time…"

Jack grinned, "I had no idea that you'd been thinking such dirty thoughts for so long Jones Ianto Jones, I would have stolen you for a weekend sooner if I had known! Anyway, how about that bath and the champagne now then eh?"

"Sounds good to me" Ianto nodded and grinned an obscenely wide and genuinely happy smile back at the gorgeous man lying opposite him who had chosen to be his.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** _Right so I had said last week that I would be writing on this story on Mondays and IJD on Sundays (due to revision and other boring stuff I am going to stick to just those two days and have a little break from ACAAG for now - but it will be resumed once my exams are over) but I've done a swap this week on account of the fact that I never posted on this one earlier in the week because I was ill - which is unheard of for me! So yeah, you have this today and IJD tomorrow! Hope you like it, Hannah xxx_

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><p>A short while later, once both men had regained enough energy and summoned enough effort to rise up from their slumberous, satisfied masses lazily lying on the large king sized bed in order to sample the generous bath tub in the room next door. Jack was first to move, not bothering to cover up with any clothes as considering their next choice of activity it would have been a pointless gesture, rolling off the edge of the bed and standing to attention to pull the younger man up by the hand and leas him, also still fully de-clothed, towards their destination, collecting the champagne and two glasses along the way. The ornate room had been equally embellished with candles (and flowers) like the bedroom, and there on the window sill ledge was an assortment of bubble baths and oils and anything else needed for drawing the perfect bath.<p>

The Welshman ran the water whilst the American lit a few of the candles and then sat back to admired the site of Ianto's naked movements; and once the large tub was filled with warm water and the perfect combination of accompaniments the two men eagerly stepped in.

Jack let out a sigh of content, "This is nice" He smiled, relaxing into the water up to his shoulders and leaning against the Welshman.

"Mmhhmm" Ianto agreed, equally contentedly, "it is – and it's just as big as it looked! I was a little worried that once we'd got in here it would turn out to have been an incredibly tight squeeze!" He smiled back at the other man.

"I don't think I would have minded being squeezed up to you all that much…" Jack replied, idly running a bubble coated hand across Ianto's shoulder.

"Trust me, if we had been tightly crushed together in here you _would _have minded as I would have been out like a shot! I hate cramped spaces"

"Aww are you claustrophobic?" Jack asked in a teasing tone.

"Not exactly" Ianto said blushing a little, or perhaps just flushing with the heat rising from the water, the American wasn't certain. "I just like my space"

"But you're fine with this…?" Jack asked moving in closer to him and planting a kiss on the back of his neck.

"Yes, this is fine… very good in fact" The Welshman smiled back and turned to face the American and lean in for a kiss. Both men smiled as they parted.

"Do you know what this sort of reminds me of?" Jack asked after a brief moment of blissful, peaceful silence.

"What?" Ianto asked with intrigue.

"Pretty Woman" Jack grinned.

"Really?" Ianto chuckled back.

"Yeah, you know the bit where she's in that giant bath tub… the only things that are different is that there are two of us, we're both men, and neither of us is being prostituted by Richard Geer."

"Oh yes, so it's _so _similar then isn't it" Ianto mocked gently, laughing as he did so.

"Oh shut up!" Jack said and splashed the Welshman with a generous helping of bubbles and soapy water.

"Hey!" Ianto replied, feigning annoyance but laughing, as he retaliated.

After a couple of minutes of childish water fighting, and bundles of laughter the two men ceased their play before all of the water was thrown out of the tub and spilt down the sides. Jack lifted a hand up to Ianto's hair which was beginning to curl ever so slightly upon the addition of the hot soapy water to his head and face, and smiled. He always liked it when Ianto's hair began to curl just slightly; the younger man (though fully capable of witticisms and the occasional bout of childishness, as just proven by their previous little interaction) was often quite a serious and had been rather stoic when the pair of them had first met, for Jack, seeing his hair like this, uncontrollable and slipping out of its style, somehow exposed his more relaxed side – and he looked as cute as hell Jack smiled to himself.

"What?" Ianto asked with a slight air of suspicion in his voice, but he was smiling.

"Nothing" Jack grinned back wider.

"Alright then" Ianto laughed lightly, moving Jack's hand away from his hair and interlinking it with his own. "Oh and I realised, you missed something"

"Missed what?" Jack asked curiously, his brow furrowing slightly as he tried to guess what the Welshman might have meant.

"Missed out the fact that we're not listening to Prince from your list of why this 'is but isn't' like Pretty Woman" he chuckled.

"Oh!" The American joined in the laughter, "Well that's as maybe, but I do want your extra time and your kiss if it helps"

"It does" Ianto smiled, before letting out a sleepy, contented yawn that just couldn't be contained any longer. "Sorry" He apologised.

"Don't be, but as much as I am enjoying having a gorgeous, naked Ianto Jones to myself in a hot bath tub full of water, I think it might be bed time – it is nearly one am after all, and you have work tomorrow."

"Oh yeah… I'd forgotten about that, in fact I'd kind of forgotten that we had to leave tomorrow. This weekend has gone by far too quickly!"

"Yeah I know! But we can always do it again another time…"

"I'd like that a lot" Ianto smiled.

"Great" Jack grinned, "but for now – bed" He said in a mock commanding, Captain-like, tone which made shivers run down the younger man's spine.

The pair of them dried themselves, or rather each other, off with the plush, soft, luxurious white hotel towels before retreating once again to the bedroom in a sleepy, happy, naked daze. Jack threw back the already untidy and ruffled up covers of the bed and after slipping onto the mattress – shortly followed by Ianto – he pulled them back up and over the two of them and curled in closely to the other man. The American curled his muscular arms around the warm waist of the Welshman lying with his back against Jack's chest, and let his chin rest on the ledge of his shoulder, breathing in the delicious scent of the man that he was so unbelievably glad to be here with right now. It had been a while now, since the American had recognised that his feelings for Ianto had developed into something more than just lust and attraction and mutual interests, and he felt that now - on the first night that they had consummated their relationship – was the apt time to tell him. He smiled to himself and, with an unfamiliar sensation of nervous butterflies frantically flapping in his stomach, he began to speak.

"Ianto?"

"Yeah" He replied quietly and sleepily.

"I love you" He announced and bit his lip, hoping that the other man would feel the same, and that this whole situation wasn't still to new and strange to him that the expression of sentiment like this might freak him out.

Ianto, with his back to the face of the handsome American behind him, grinned wider than perhaps he had ever done in the entirety of his life as he heard the pronunciation of those three little words. Before the two of them had embarked upon their romantic getaway to London, Ianto had considered carefully his feelings for the other man and the significance that a trip like this held, which brought him to realise that he had fallen completely and utterly in love with Jack – almost without realising. It was no longer just a case of Jack being attractive, or him being interesting or fun to spend time with, that drew Ianto into him, but their deepened, emotional connection, a connection which Ianto could never have imagined forming with another man yet now couldn't imagine breaking. He'd contemplated telling Jack how he felt, but he had been entirely bowled over by the grandeur of Jack's romantic gesture and the delicateness with which he had made love to him, that he had backed down from those ideas. So to now hear those three words uttered from the man that he had wanted to say them to was, for the Welshman, the perfect ending to their idyllic weekend.

"Jack?"

"Yes?" Jack asked, still nervously biting his lip in a manner which was so uncharacteristic of the American.

"I love you too"

Jack grinned equally as wide as Ianto had done, and both men were left in the content, blissful silence, smiling in the dark and feeling closer to one another than they had done even just a few moments before, as they slowly drifted into sleep.

The next morning as the two of the reluctantly prised themselves from the blissful confinements of sleep, and of cuddling on the large comfortable bed, and half-heartedly ate a delicious breakfast in their suite, and unenthusiastically dressed and washed and packed up their belongings, both Ianto and Jack mourned greatly the fact that it was now time for them to leave. They said goodbye to the room, metaphorically in the Welshman's case but physically in the American's as he hugged the door goodbye causing Ianto to roll his eyes and burst into a fit of laughter, and made their way down to reception to hand in their key card and check out, and bid the charming girl on reception goodbye.

Ianto and Jack sat in relative silence through their brief taxi journey to the station, and once out of the vehicle only spoke to order two, rather inadequate, coffees from one of the cafes in the train station; neither man wanted to begin talking and face up to the fact that they were returning home to separate houses just yet.

The pair of them boarded the surprisingly empty train together, Jack sat down – or rather threw himself down in a heap into the window seat – and kicked his legs out, resting his feet on the empty seat opposite him whilst Ianto secured their bags in the overhead storage before taking a similar stance on the seat diagonally opposite him.

Jack sighed, "We're really going home aren't we?"

Ianto nodded, "I'm afraid so" He sighed back.

The American caught the Welshman's hand across their legs and laced their fingers together, "Well it was fun while it lasted"

"That it was" Ianto smiled, looking at their hands.

"I meant what I said about doing it again sometime, as long as you're up for it that is, now that my contract is finished with Burberry I'm going to have a lot more free time"

"Yes, I am definitely up for that. And I forgot to mention it, but Tosh broke the news last Wednesday that she is going to be moving in with Owen in the next couple of weeks, so pretty soon I'll have the apartment to myself and you can come over whenever you like" Ianto grinned, looking up at the American now.

"Oh really? That's interesting… very interesting…" Jack half purred.

"Indeed…" Ianto replied, "It'll be weird though, not living with Tosh… I mean we've been roommates since university, I haven't ever actually lived alone…"

"It's not so bad, you get used to it after a while, and living alone means that you can do lots of things you couldn't do if you weren't like walk around naked or sing at the top of your lungs for no reason or spontaneously decide to re-decorate"

"Hmm I suppose… I'll still miss her though… but it is nice that she has Owen, that she's found someone who appreciates her as much as she appreciates them at last; she's always been a bit unlucky with guys" Ianto mused.

"Really? Jack asked, genuinely surprised that their attractive, kind, intelligent and funny mutual friend had had an unlucky dating history.

"Yeah… she's quite shy and nervous around guys and I guess things have never really quite worked out for her. There was this guy Tommy a few years ago, but he joined the army and the two of them lost touch as a result… and there was Adam, but he wasn't the nicest of fellows, so she got rid of him pretty quickly… and of course, her and I dated back in college before I met Lisa but that had only lasted a couple of weeks" Ianto laughed.

Jack's face broke into a large grin of amazement, "What! You and Tosh? No way!"

"Yeah… but as I said, it was years ago now, and it was all over incredibly quickly – it felt far too awkward, we're much better off as best friends" He smiled.

"Well I'd have never have guessed that!" Jack exclaimed laughing, "Now I'm starting to wonder whether or not I should be ok with you two living together for the rest of these next few weeks" Jack winked.

"Oh come on… we never even slept together" Ianto replied, rolling his eyes.

"What in two weeks? You never slept together – that's weird!"

"No it isn't, we've been together for what three, almost four, months now? And we only just… you know… last night!" Ianto counter argued in hushed tones, suddenly very aware that they were conducting this argument on an, albeit rather empty, public train.

"Ah yes but, you were at Uni then and were hormone and lust fuelled youths and two weeks was a long time" Jack winked again, "Besides with us it was different… I didn't want to rush you… it would have been fair, this weekend away wouldn't have been quite as special and it probably would have spoilt things between us"

"Alright then" Ianto said, smiling and blushing slightly with the affectionate tone of Jack's words. "I'm glad that we waited a bit"

Jack smiled back, "You know that you have ruined my womaniser/man-eater reputation though don't you?

Ianto laughed, "yeah sorry about that…"

"Don't be, I'm not" Jack grinned, "it was about time that someone tamed the Captain"

"This is you tame?" Ianto asked in a mock incredulous tone.

"Oh shut up!" Jack laughed, kicking at Ianto's side with his foot, "I was paying you a complement, telling you that you were the first person in a long time to get me to commit to a relationship, and you give me that back? That's just plain rude Mr Jones." He mock pouted back before grinning.

"Well… thanks then…" Ianto replied, "I've gathered from Tosh that you had a somewhat colourful past relationship wise, it's nice to know that I don't have to be worried about any reoccurrences" He laughed lightly.

"What exactly did Tosh tell you…?"

"Just that you'd been with a lot, and she meant a _lot, _of people since you two had become friends and that the relationships weren't often very long lived" Ianto replied cautiously, attempting to phrase 'you had a lot of one night stands' in the nicest possible way.

Jack laughed a little, "Yeah you could say that… but she didn't tell you about anything that happened before we met?"

"No… should she have done?" Ianto asked, intrigued now.

"No, no, I mean I didn't ask her to… but I didn't tell her not to either."

"So… do you want to tell me now?" Ianto asked, smiling persuasively.

"Ahhh go on then, we've got a long journey ahead of us, may as well make use of it". He grinned. "When I was younger, about 17/18 or maybe even a little older, and modelling back in the States, I was just the same sex crazed, flirtatious, outrageous man you know and love" He paused to wink at the eye rolling Welshman opposite him, "But, well, I guess there's no easy way to put this, so I'm just going to come out and say it… I fell in love with a girl, a model Estelle, and we got married" He said, sighing a little towards the end.

"You were married?"

Jack nodded, "Yeah… we met on the set of some adverts for Abercrombie and Fitch, I was young and charismatic and she was… beautiful… and after two happy, untainted years of being together, at the ages of just 22 and 23, I proposed. She…"Jack's voice caught in his throat for a minute, "We had a further blissful two years together before she became ill. Just as my own career was at its peak, she was finding it harder and harder to get work, and in her desperation she started… I caught her… skipping meals, making herself sick more often than not when she actually ate, becoming thinner and thinner with each day. I tried talking to her, telling her that she was beautiful and perfect just the way that she was and that, regardless of what any brand or organisation might say to her, she didn't need to lose weight that she was already dangerously thin – but she didn't listen. Things kept getting worse, and we were having more and more arguments about her health until one day when I just gave up and forcefully checked her into a rehabilitation centre. It was… I was too late to help, she'd gone beyond the point of return, she wouldn't cooperate with the medical professionals and couldn't see the damage she was doing…" Jack's voice caught in his throat again and his eyes filled up with water that was firmly blinked back. "She was only 24 years old…" He coughed, and Ianto released his hand from Jack's to lovingly stroke his knee.

"I… Jack… I had no idea, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked." Ianto replied, feeling a little guilty.

"Don't be silly, you should know about her… I should have told you before, it's just… finding the right moment" He smiled sadly.

"I understand; if you ever feel the need to talk about her then feel free to talk away, I'm happy to listen." Ianto smiled back encouragingly.

"Thank you" Jack said, seeming a little less sad now. "And yeah… well… Estelle I didn't feel like engaging in a proper relationship for a long while, in fact for a good while I lived a fairly self-destructive life sleeping with a different person each night… pretty much living on alcohol… it wasn't good. I calmed down a bit with time, but still never found anything permanent. There was John, John Hart not John Smith, who I was seeing for a while… about six months I'd say… but he had more problems with his life than I did, he was addicted to almost everything and the pair of us together just wasn't a smart idea so I ended it. Since then I've reverted back to the same old pattern… until you of course" He grinned now, looking Ianto right in the eyes.

"Well don't worry, I'm not addicted to anything… except perhaps coffee… and Haagen-Dazs…" Ianto replied, attempting to lighten the mood a little.

"Hmm I think I can put up with _those _addictions" Jack laughed, "Sorry if I've put a bit of a downer on the end of our trip" He added.

"Don't worry you haven't" Ianto reassured.

"Jolly good!" the American grinned, "Oh and what about yourself, Jones, Ianto Jones… I now know about your brief love affair with the fair Toshiko… who else is hiding in your past?" Jack asked ominously.

Ianto laughed, "And now comes the time for _me _to ask… what has Tosh already told you?"

"Nothing much" Jack shrugged, "She didn't say a lot to be honest. After that first night at my party she told me to go easy on you because you were still upset about a break up with a girl called… Lisa? And that since her you hadn't really dated anyone and were probably feeling vulnerable and confused right now… a factor which I fully took advantage of" He winked.

Ianto laughed, "That's pretty much my entire dating history to be perfectly truthful with you, before Lisa I hadn't really had a proper girlfriend – we can't count Tosh really – and for a long time she was the only person I could ever see myself being with… obviously I didn't mean the same to her as the second I proposed she was off like a shot without explanation, running away and leaving me behind broken hearted…" Ianto laughed with a slightly bitter edge, "Since that happened I've found it really difficult to trust anyone or form a connection with anyone again… I've had a few dates with a couple of pretty girls, but I never felt anything like I did with Lisa… like I do with you for that matter… which, by the way, came as a complete surprise, I never expected to feel this way again, let alone about a guy! Your powers of charisma and flirtation really are unbeatable"

"Good to know it all still works" Jack flashed a grin.

"Indeed"

The boys continued to talk, about less serious matters, for the next fifteen minutes or so before falling into a much needed sleep after their previously late and energetic evening, only waking as the train arrived once again in Cardiff. As the vehicle came to its halt, the Welshman let out an unenthusiastic yawn before tapping awake the American lying soundly asleep (and snoring lightly) opposite him and collecting their stuff. They made their way off the train and out of the station, and the Welshman glanced at his wristwatch before Jack began to talk.

"I don't suppose you have time for a coffee?"

Ianto smiled sadly, "sorry no… got to go home and get ready for work"

"Ah don't worry about it; we can take a rain check"

"Yes we can, and the coffee will be a lot better than that awful muck we were drinking this morning" Ianto laughed.

"I should hope so! You've got me used to a very particular blend…" Jack grinned back.

"Well then, I guess I'll see you later…" Ianto said, flagging down a nearby taxi, "those fairy tales won't read themselves"

"I might just come and watch you again you know…" Jack said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Don't you dare!" Ianto warned.

"Fine, fine" Jack chuckled, "I'll see you soon then", he said, leaning in for a chaste peck on the cheek, being considerate and careful now that they were once again back in home territory.

"Make sure it's very soon" Ianto laughed as he stepped into the taxi and Jack stood there waving him off and sighing, hoping for a time when every weekend would be like this one, and hoping that that time would come very soon indeed.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **_Right then, this whole set day for writing each story thing is SO not working out... I'm really sorry, I'm just getting so stressed now about my upcoming exams because these are the big ones that count, that I'm literally writing whenever I can and whenever I'm not to stressed to do so! I am trying to update each story once a week and am not by any means giving up with writing, so please bear with me until the end of June, by which point I will be done with school until September and can write LOADS! I will aslo be taking requests and prompts for one shots during this time, so if you have any ideas of things you'd like me to write then PM me or drop it in a comment :) Hope you like this one, Hannah xxx_

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><p>Ianto paid the taxi driver, tipping him appropriately, and retrieved his luggage from the boot of the car before sighing as his taxi cab pulled away from the entrance to his block of flats, drawing his blissful weekend getaway with Jack to its final close. Although he had officially said goodbye to London and then to Jack a good while ago, it was coming back to his flat and back to normality which brought about the depressing realisation that now they were home things would have to revert back to the way they had been before their trip. There was to be no more full frontal public displays of affection, no more kissing in open spaces, no more romantic trips out in parks or restaurants or theatres… not now that they were back in Cardiff and back in an area in which Ianto knew far too many people who might tell Rhiannon his secret before he had a chance to tell her himself.<p>

With a heavy heart and head, the Welshman slowly dragged his feet up the stairs to his floor of the building and reluctantly turned the key in the lock, mourning the loss of the shiny plastic card to his and Jack's room at the Savoy.

"Tosh?" He called out, dumping his holdall next to the shoe rack and uncharacteristically recklessly throwing his keys down onto the coffee table.

"In here, just give me a sec" She called back through a mouth full of toothpaste in the bathroom.

Ianto smiled to himself, "Yeah, you'd better finish up before you head on out, don't want to create toothpaste stains on the carpet" he chuckled.

"Oh har har" Tosh replied, emerging from the bathroom at last. Much to Ianto's surprise she was dressed smartly in a pretty stone coloured, just above the knee, floaty skirt; a pink and green ditsy floral blouse and a matching pink cardigan, with her dark hair swept neatly half up and half down, rather than in the expected tartan pyjama trousers, Owen's t-shirt and a messy bun that he had been expecting.

"Wow, it's nearly eleven on a Sunday morning and you are up, dressed, washed and ready to leave the house by the looks of it, it must be a miracle!" He grinned.

"Oh you are so funny…"

"I know" He smiled, "Where are you off to anyway?"

Toshiko pulled a face, "Having Sunday lunch with Owen and his parents… I'm nervous as hell. Do you think I'm dressed alright? How about my hair? Do I look too formal? Do I look to casual? Do you think they'll like me? What happens if they don't like me, do we break up? What if I don't like the food? Or…"

"Tosh, calm down!" I cut her off, "breathe, everything is going to be perfectly fine. You look as lovely as ever, and Owen adores you so I'm sure they'll love you just as much" I replied, gripping her shoulders and steadying her frantic nervous gestures.

"Oh Ianto, are you sure? I really want this to go well"

"Absolutely sure" I replied, "It's not like you to get so nervous"

"I know, it's just… well… I've never really met any of my other boyfriend's parents before, things were never that serious and well… I don't have a clue how to behave or what to say or… or…"

"Just be yourself and it will be alright! Partner's parents are not a different alien life form – they're just people! Just laugh at their jokes, smile politely and be your usual cheery self ok? Oh and try not to spill the gravy… I spilt the entire jug all over Lisa's mother's clean table cloth at our first meeting… which did not go down too well" I chuckled, and Tosh joined in.

"Ok" She breathed in and out deeply, "Ok, it'll be fine, I'll just stay calm and be myself and remember not to spill" She chuckled once again.

"At a girl" I replied, pulling her into a quick hug, "What time are you meeting them?" I asked pulling away.

"Owen's picking me up here at eleven thirty and we're getting to theirs about twelve ish, so I have a bit of time, which is just as well because I absolutely can't leave without hearing about your dirty weekend" She said excitedly.

Ianto rolled his eyes but blushed a little as he replied, "It wasn't a dirty weekend… it was just a… weekend… and I haven't got long because I've really got to head out to work for the children's reading group…" The Welshman tried to deflect Tosh's invitation to a conversation.

"No, no, no, no, no. You're not wriggling out of this one that easily Mr Jones! How was it?"

"It was… it was the best weekend I've had in a bloody long time! It was perfect" The Welshman couldn't fight off the smile that was breaking out across his lips as he re-remembered their antics.

"Good" Tosh grinned, "Any elaborations on perfect? Like, what did you do? Where did you go? Which hotel did you stay in? Etc…"

"Well… we did a general tour of London, we walked around a couple of the parks, we went to go and see the Sound of Music – which was incredible, I think it's ruined the DVD for me it was that good – and, oh my gosh we stayed in the Savoy!" He gushed out in one excited burst.

"The Savoy?"

"Yes! The Savoy! I made him swear never to tell me how much the room cost because I think I would be eaten alive with guilt if he did, but it was so gorgeous and the food in the restaurant was amazing and there was champagne and a giant bath tub like on Pretty Woman!"

"It sounds wonderful; I still can't believe he took you to the Savoy though! I mean, I know he's clearly well off, but even by Jack's standards this was a pretty significant gesture, you're one lucky man"

"I know…" Ianto smiled slightly sadly, "I don't really deserve it, I still haven't told my family and so I'm still asking him to pretty much conceal our relationship whilst we're in Cardiff, which I know isn't fair because it was so lovely to be able to just act naturally in London and…"

"Ianto don't worry; as I said the Savoy is a big gesture, he must like you a _lot, _I'm certain he'll wait a little longer"

"I know he _will _but I feel bad asking him to! Especially now… now that… well, in London he told me that he loves me" Ianto grinned.

"Really? That's, well that's a surprise, but that's great" Tosh grinned back, "You do feel the same way don't you?"

"Of course, which is why I'm really not too keen on the idea of hiding it either."

"Then don't. Just tell Rhi and your mum and get it over with"

"Easier said than done I'm afraid…" Ianto sighed, "I'll be fine telling Rhiannon, she won't care – in fact, I might tell her sooner rather than later – but Mam… I don't know what I'd do if she disapproved or disowned me or something, because apart from Rhi she's the only real family I have and as much as I'd like to think she's be supportive, I'm scared of how she'll take it…"

"Ianto if she really loves you, which of course she does, she'll come around to the idea perfectly fine, whether it takes her two seconds or two years. Before she gets there things might be a bit rough, but it'll be well worth it in the end."

"I know, you're right. It's just, it's hard telling people things about yourself, especially family." The Welshman sighed.

"Yeah it is, but you'll pluck up the courage sooner or later, if only because you can't stand keeping it to yourself anymore" Tosh smiled back reassuringly.

"Thanks Tosh" Ianto smiled.

"Oh and speaking of Rhiannon, she rang at about ten this morning wanting to speak to you, I told her to try your mobile… did she get through?"

"No, it died on the way home on the train and I didn't pack my charger, I'll have to ring her back later – did she say what it was that she wanted?"

"No not really, just that she'd found something interesting that she wanted to discuss with you, and that she'd try your mobile but for me to pass on a message just in case you didn't pick up"

"Ok" Ianto nodded, "Cheers, I'll call her after work. Umm… you didn't tell her where I was did you?" Ianto asked nervously.

"What? That you were on a romantic get away with your new boyfriend? No, I just told her that you'd gone into work a bit early"

Ianto breathed a sigh of relief, "You're an angel, thank you! I'd better get changed; I've got to be at the library in thirty minutes!" He finished, glancing at his wrist watch.

"Oh no Mr, there's still one thing we haven't covered and I'm not letting you leave until we do!"

Ianto rolled his eyes, "What?" He asked despite the fact that he knew exactly _what _she meant.

"Did you two… err… you know…?" She asked, suggestively arching her eyebrows upwards.

"Maybe…" Ianto replied, blushing a bright shade of scarlet.

"Oh so it _was _a dirty weekend after all then!" Tosh announced triumphantly.

"Maybe…" Ianto repeated, incredibly unwilling to offload any further details.

"So… how was it?"

"Really? Are we really going to do this? Come on Tosh, I really don't feel all that comfortable talking about it, and I'm sure you'd feel the same the second I started talking about it!"

"So this isn't alright, but it was perfectly alright for you to ask me how to give a blow job?"

"I never asked you that!"

"No, but you were about to!"

"When?"

"Just before you left for London you said to me, 'Tosh how do I give a… oh never mind I'll Google it' or something like that anyway, now, give the context of our previous conversation it had to be something along those lines that you were asking…"

"I was not going to ask you that!" The Welshman lied, "I was… I was just going to ask… ask how you give a… a… Chinese burn that's all! In case Jack got a little irritating after two days"

"Oh really?" Tosh raised up one eyebrow sceptically.

"Yes, really" Ianto lied again.

"Well then, was Google useful?" She asked teasingly.

"Yes thank you" Ianto mumbled quietly before heading into his room to change.

The Welshman was changed and freshened up and leaving the apartment in no time at all, and was soon pitching up at the library to read to his familiar group of children; Cinderella and the Gingerbread Man were this morning's choice which seem to please the eagerly awaiting crowd of youngsters. As per usual, Ianto made the extra effort to capture the voices of the different characters, saving the most ridiculous accents for the two ugly step sisters and deciding upon a heavy cockney accent for the Gingerbread man, laughing to himself when one of the small children told him off for not pronouncing his 'Ts' and 'Hs' properly whilst playing that particular role. Before starting he made a quick sweep of the group with his eyes, and of nearby hiding spaces, to check and make sure that Jack wasn't secretly watching, but the coast seemed to be clear so he was free to get as involved with the stories as he liked without feeling embarrassed. Once the hour was up and Ianto had said goodbye to reluctant-to-leave children who were hankering after more and grateful parents who were glad of the hour's activity for their children, the Welshman strolled over to the central desk and sighed leaning up against its side.

"Were they a bit of a handful this morning?" Lucy asked as she checked through a pile of recently returned books.

"No, no, it's not that. I'm just a bit depressed to be back after my weekend in London." Ianto sighed again.

"What, Cardiff not good enough for you know is it?" She joked.

"Oh very funny, but you know what I mean… it's just a bit of a come down."

"I know what you mean… and that Jack of yours, he's gorgeous, I'm not surprised your sad to be away from him after a weekend together" She grinned wider.

"He does get a little irritating after a while though" The Welshman laughed, joking. In reality, he mused, he couldn't imagine being with Jack a long enough amount of time to ever find him truly irritating.

"Yeah but I bet you never get tired of looking at that face! I still can't believe you're going out with _Jack Harkness.. _I mean, not that I don't think you're good enough for him or anything like that it's just, well, that sort of thing doesn't really happen to normal people like us does it?" She laughed, "Well not to me anyway, I wouldn't mind finding a nice supermodel though…"

Ianto laughed, "It's funny, I always forget that he's a little bit famous. When we were in the park in London, some girl recognised him and it was so surreal that she knew who he was when I just think of him as Jack" He laughed further.

"I guess it's easy to forget when you know someone that well, but you can't forget how gorgeous he is though!"

"Honestly, I don't think I'm ever going to be able to introduce you to him properly, you see him once when he came to meet me after the children's a while back reading group and you're infatuated!" Ianto laughed, "I guess he just has that effect on people"

"Indeed" She grinned, "Oh, hey up, is that Rhiannon over there?"

Ianto looked up and sure enough there was Rhiannon heading over in their direction with an unreadable expression on her face, but with a walk that certainly gave the impression that she meant business.

The Welshman gulped, "She was trying to phone me earlier, I was going to call her back after work but I guess it couldn't wait… I'm alright to go and talk to her right?"

"Sure, 'course you are! You're only really in this morning to read to the children, technically you've clocked off already" Lucy chuckled, averting her attention back to her pile of books as Ianto made his way over to his sister.

"Rhi" He said by way of a greeting with a large, cheerful and slight forced smile on his face as he went to hug his sister. He wasn't entirely sure why, but knowing that his older sister had something to discuss with him always unsettles his stomach a little.

"Yan" She smiled back, relaxing into a quick hug and ruffling his hair as she always did.

"So… what's up? Tosh said you'd called, my mobile was dead so I couldn't get your messages earlier…" Ianto began nervously.

"I don't know what the point is in you having a mobile really if you're never going to use it! You're practically worse than Mam is and that's saying something, hers is always off unless she wants to call someone and I think the same £5 top up as lasted her for seven years now!" Rhiannon laughed.

"More like ten!" Ianto laughed back, "I'm not that bad am I honestly? I just forgot to charge it"

"Well I'll let you off this time Yan" She smiled.

"So… what was it you wanted?" Ianto asked again, biting his lip as he did so.

"Ah yes, well, two things, firstly will you come with mam and me to look at wedding dresses on Saturday next week? I know it's a bit girly, but you're always so smartly dressed and seem to have an eye for it all, I thought you'd be a lot of help and it'll be nice to do something all as a family, seeing as we don't do a lot anymore"

"Of course I'll come" Ianto smiled, "I can't have you walking down the aisle in some hideous overly puffy 90s design which mam would probably pick out" He laughed.

"Thank you! I definitely don't want to end up wearing a meringue!" She joined in the laughter.

"What was the other thing?"

"The other thing… yes… well, I don't quite know how to bring it up really, I mean, I could be jumping to all the wrong conclusions, it might not be at all what it looks like, and I suppose if it is it's really none of my business…" Rhiannon mumbled, suddenly feeling a little awkward.

"What on Earth are you going on about?"

"Well… you've been seen"

"Seen? Seen when? What does _seen _mean?" Ianto asked, confused.

"You know my friend Sian? Well, she saw a picture of you in a park in London… with a man… a very handsome man she said, a model in fact… I've forgotten who she said it was now…"

Ianto froze for a split second; it must have been the photograph of him and Jack, the photograph that he'd let the girl Sophie take on Saturday, the one that he had suspected might be seen by Rhiannon at some point… but not this fast! He wasn't prepared yet, he didn't know what to tell her or how she would react, and to make matters worse he was suddenly forgetting how to use his lungs.

"Ianto?" Rhiannon asked, frowning.

"Yeah, sorry, just had a moment" He replied taking in a large breath to catch himself up, "Umm… where did she see this picture?"

"On twitter. Apparently some girl posted it and tagged the model guy and it was being retweeted by lots of people and just popped up on her timeline. She wasn't sure if it was you at first, so she showed me and it's definitely you… so… who is he?" Bloody hell things really do spread quickly around the internet Ianto thought to himself.

"He's… he's" Who is he? Ianto thought frantically, who do I tell her that he is? My friend, my lover, my boyfriend, my partner? "He's Jack Harkness" He replied, opting for simple honesty.

"Oh of course, now I remember, that's who she said it was! He's quite dishy really; I loved that Ralph Lauren advert he did a few years back! So… umm…. How do you know him?" She asked intrigued.

Ianto breathed in deeply once again, it was now; now was the time to tell Rhiannon. He'd been thinking about telling her for a while, wanting to get it off his chest so that he and Jack could be as open as they wanted – he doubted that he would run into anyone who would tell his mam about the pair of them and she'd be the only person left to worry about after Rhi knew – and now she'd seen the photograph which so obviously screamed 'couple', that he just had to tell her whether he was ready to or not. "Tosh introduced us about four or so months ago now, at a party of his" He replied, endeavouring to slowly work up to revealing the whole truth.

"Uh-hu, so you two hit it off then?"

"You could say that…"

"You, umm, you seemed pretty cosy in that photograph… Sian thought that there definitely looked to be… chemistry between the two of you"

"Well we're quite close now" Ianto replied, wondering if it wouldn't be better just to come out quickly and say it, get it over with and out in the open.

"I see… so do you see much of him then?"

"A fair amount yeah" Ianto smiled, as memories of their weekend flashed briefly through his mind.

The smiled wasn't missed by Rhiannon, "Oh for heaven's sake Ianto! Let's stop skirting around the subject here, have you gone bender?" She asked quite bluntly.

"Umm… well… I… maybe…" Ianto stuttered, quite shocked by her sudden bluntness.

"No!" Rhiannon exclaimed, shocked but excitedly so, "Really?"

"Maybe…" Ianto repeated again.

"Oh shut up!" Rhiannon grinned.

"I'm not talking." Ianto replied sarcastically but smiling.

"Oh hark at you Mr hilarious! I can't believe it! I mean, as I said before you've always had good dress sense, and I know you like musicals… but I never would have guessed that you were gay, I mean, you went out with Lisa for so long!"

"Well, I'm not sure that I am gay… I mean, Jack's the only man I've ever been attracted to, I think that maybe it's not all men, it's just… him…" Ianto smiled again, pleased that his sister was taking things so positively.

"I don't blame you, he is rather gorgeous!" She laughed, "I don't mind by the way, just thought I'd better say, I don't care who you want to go out with as long as they make you happy – he does make you happy doesn't he?" She asked, suddenly taking on a very 'big sisterly' tone.

Ianto chuckled, "Very… he took me to London this weekend, that's when the photo was taken, and paid for us to stay in the Savoy and to go and see the Sound of Music! And he's cooked for me and we've been on picnics and lots of stuff, and I still can't believe that someone like him would be interested in someone like me, but he is and it's all just a bit too good to be true" He smiled.

"Wow, so it's pretty serious then?" She asked.

"I think so, I… I mean, well, I'm in love with him so yes, pretty serious" Ianto grinned wider.

"Wow" Rhiannon repeated.

"I would have told you about it earlier, I'm sorry, it's just well… you can imagine, I thought you'd be cool with it but I was still worried, and for a good while I wasn't even sure exactly what was going on myself or how I felt about feeling like this about another guy and I didn't want to tell you until I had things sorted in my head. This picture business kind of brought it forward, but I promise you I was going to tell you soon anyway!"

"That's alright, I completely understand. You've told me now anyway and that's what matters" She replied giving Ianto's shoulder a squeeze.

"I still need to tell Mam though… so don't tell her before I get the chance to" Ianto said, suddenly feeling nervous again at the prospect of telling his mother.

"I won't do, and there's no need to look so nervous! I'm sure she'll be fine too! She loves you and wants you to be happy just like I do, besides, I'm sure she'll be a little impressed that someone in the family is dating someone famous if nothing else" She giggle.

Ianto just rolled his eyes in response.

"What! You have to admit it's quite cool you dating a supermodel! I can't wait to meet him…"

"I bet you can't! You can't wait to rip into him with a million and one 'big sister' questions" Ianto joked.

"Quiet" She grinned, "That and…well… if he's as gorgeous as he is in the photos" She winked.

"Trust me, if anything he's more so" Ianto laughed, "But when I do introduce you, don't tell him I said that it'll only inflate his ego and we could really do without that"

Rhiannon laughed along with him, "I'm not making any promises"

"Well it's just as well that you aren't meeting right away then isn't it? I think I need to give the two of you some time to prepare anyway, I need to prep him on the sorts of questions you're bound to throw at him, and I need some time to prepare you for how ridiculously outrageous and flirtatious he can behave, it takes quite some getting used to!"

"Oh come on, he can't be that bad?"

"Oh no, he really is" The Welshman laughed, "Come on, I've finished work for the day, we can go and grab lunch and start the preparation work and talk dresses" Ianto smiled, grabbing his jacket before heading out of the library with his sister who was still excitedly asking him questions at the rate of a million a minute.


End file.
